If you have ever wondered what kind of Catholics ignore Church teaching and vote and support Democrats such as John Kerry, and Clinton, this should give you an idea:
DUBLIN, Ohio—Columbus police have charged a former member of Governor Ted Strickland’s staff with seven felonies, involving a prostitution ring. Eric McFadden, who until October of 2007 was head of Strickland’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, was arrested Wednesday morning in Dublin.Police said they believe McFadden was “Toby,“ the man they have been looking for during the past two months after busting up a prostitution ring that was operated on Craig’s List.
Eric McFadden ran Catholic organizing for Kerry and Clinton.
Always beware of those willing to get into bed with the wolves on the premise of "outreach" or "big tent" or "understanding." Usually when your in bed with someone, it's because you want to be. Because you are just like them.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
These kind of Catholics
"Everything is Possible"
Fascinating...
Here is a video which is part of a time-line posted on the wall of the Gush Katif Museum located in Jerusalem near Shuk Machne Yehudah. It's very brief. Really. Worth a look.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Obama Art
Finally....
....A true close up look at the Obama family.The STAR has the scoop:
Barack is concerned that Michelle spends too much dolling the girls up in fancy dresses. "He doesn't want them to look like little princesses," a source says. He wanted them to go to public school, but Michelle picked Sidwell. Oh, and she came back to their hotel with "loads" of new purchases, and "Barack hit the roof." (Yes, apparently No Drama Obama hits roofs!) A source swears: "He was stunned at how much she had spent. He told her she was letting the notion of being First Lady go to her head, and that she was going to have to take back many of the items." There was a lot of shouting, and then the silent treatment. But! "If there's a silver lining to their heated spats, it's the makeup sex."
Excuse me while I bleach my brain clean of the visual on that last sentence. Tabloids lie, we all know. If you believe Obama wanted to send the girls to public school, let me show you where a spaceship landed in my back yard. There's a circle there, I promise!
I guess this is what you get when your a "celebrity."
Super Gay!
First Marvel comics takes Spiderman to the inaugural to get all gushy with Obama and now.....The first gay superhero!
SPIDER-MAN creator Stan Lee is to unveil the world’s first gay superhero. High school basketball star Thom Creed hides his developing superpowers along with his sexuality. Former Marvel Comics boss Stan, 86 — who also created the Hulk and the X-Men — will unleash the character in an hour-long TV drama being shot in the US. If it’s a hit there it will cross to the UK. TV execs hope it will rival the huge success of shows likes Heroes. Lee developed the idea of a gay character from the award-winning novel Hero by Perry Moore. The first gay superhero!
Hey. What about "The Ambiguously Gay Duo??!"
JammieWearingFool sees it this way:
Instead of emerging from a phonebooth he'll bust out of a closet warbling showtunes while fighting off evil Mormons who contributed to the Prop 8 vote.
I say let's just let Spiderman give Obama an upside kiss at the inaugural and be done with it.
Girl Power!
What the Taliban (and other terrorist monsters) think will work in their favor is to terrorize people into doing exactly what they want. It didn't work with 9-11, and it doesn't seem to be working in Afghanistan either.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: One morning two months ago, Shamsia Husseini and her sister were walking through the muddy streets to the local girls' school when a man pulled alongside on a motorcycle and posed what seemed like an ordinary question.
"Are you going to school?" Then the man pulled Shamsia's burqa from her head and sprayed her face with burning acid. Scars, jagged and discolored, are now spread across Shamsia's eyelids and most of her left cheek. These days, her vision goes blurry, making it hard to read.
But if the acid attacks against Shamsia and 14 other students and teachers, which carried the tell-tale marks of the Taliban, were meant to terrorize the girls into staying home, they appear to have failed completely.
Today, nearly all of the wounded girls are back at the Mirwais School for Girls, including Shamsia, whose face was so badly burnt that she had to be sent abroad for treatment. Perhaps even more remarkable, nearly every other female student in this deeply conservative community has returned as well - about 1,300 in all.
This story is incredible on so many levels. This is what turning a page in history is all about. Generations of girls will grow up educated and free. This changes everything. When Pres. Bush says that history will judge him. This is what he means. What will these girls, who sacrificed so much, teach their own children? And then what will those children teach theirs?
They will teach them that you cannot let evil intimidate you. That freedom and education are things worth fighting for. They will teach them how brave these girls were. They will never let the Taliban dictate to them ever again. Incredible. This is what a taste of freedom does.
These are the result of REAL women's rights. These are the women of tomorrow that will change the Arab world forever.
Change is coming
Right before the ACLU gets the President they have always dreamed of, they needed to take a parting shot at Bush and Catholics:
President Bush's days in office are numbered, but his administration's weeks in court may have just begun. Hoping to get in a parting shot at the pro-life president, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit in federal court over grants made by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). As part of its national program to help victims of sex trafficking, the USCCB has tried to protect these women from even greater exploitation at the hands of the abortion business. To keep groups like Planned Parenthood from preying on vulnerable women, the USCCB bars subcontractors from using taxpayers' money to pay or refer for abortions and "emergency contraception." Under the twisted logic of the ACLU, the Bishops' pro-life policy constitutes a "misuse" of federal funds. An attorney for the pro-abortion ACLU says that women deserve "the full range of services," including, it appears, the right to kill their unborn children at taxpayers' expense.
The ACLU, which has long advocated for abortion-on-demand, is trying to persuade the court that when it comes to federal funds, religious organizations need not apply. In reality, the USCCB was operating under President Bush's own directive, which he outlined in March 2002, saying, "I said we're not going to use taxpayers' money to fund abortion, and I'm going to make sure we're not using taxpayers' money to fund abortion." While grants to Planned Parenthood ($286 million a year from federal taxpayers) far outweigh the roughly $6 million that HHS awarded to the USCCB, the ACLU is sending a clear message to the incoming administration that it won't tolerate the participation of all faith-based organizations in federal programs. Because the Bishops serve thousands through the trafficking program alone, it would be a true shame--not to mention a legal travesty--to sideline a church which plays such a vital role in U.S. health care.
via The Family Research Council
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Before Running For President
I'm having a discussion over at my Chron blog about how Obama was clearly for strict control before he ran for President, when he suddenly assured us that he would not take our guns away. He was only for "reasonable restrictions." Right.
In the same vein, Towleroad has found that Obama was a supporter of gay marriage before he suddenly decided it was only for a man and a woman when he ran for President.
the Windy City Times uncovered copies of Outlines newspaper and an IMPACT survey which were published in 1996 and summarized in various news articles during the final weeks of the 2008 presidential campaign. The articles, which contain quotes related to Obama's position on same-sex marriage, have been revealed in a Windy City Times article:
"During his run for Illinois state Senate in 1996, Barack Obama stated his unequivocal support for gay marriage, according to an exclusive story in the Jan. 14, 2009 Windy City Times newspaper. President-elect Obama's answer to a 1996 Outlines newspaper question on marriage was: 'I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.' There was no use of the phrase 'civil unions'. [Outlines purchased Windy City Times in 2000 and merged companies.] This answer is among those included in this week's Windy City Times feature on Obama's evolving position on gay marriage. Windy City Times also includes his answers to the candidate questionnaire of IMPACT, at one time a gay political action committee in Illinois. In that survey he also stated his support of same-sex marriage."
Gee, I guess no reporter could find this during the campaign.
My feeling is that Obama is going to stay relatively moderate his first term in order to get his second term. Then all hell will break loose. Every leftwing agenda he ever had or believed in will be revealed and pushed through.
Just my feeling.
Joe The Plumber Reporting From Israel
Count me in as one of the dissenting voices in Pajama's Media letting "Joe the Plumber" go to Israel to report what is really going on there, since no one trusts anyone over there reporting.
Joe became famous when he asked a simple question of a Presidential candidate, and what the media did to him was the most disturbing thing of the whole campaign. I still can't quite believe how they justified going after him.
Joe had his moment of fame, and that has been extended by this. If you have seen his reports, it's clear he is not a professional. Maybe that's a good thing. I don't know. I do know that I wince sometime watching him and that can't be too good.
But Roger Simon of Pajama's Media does a pretty good job of explaining why Joe becoming "Joe The Reporter" isn't such a bad thing.
Joe's second report from Israel is here.
Using Limbo Time
Today I was reading about Israeli ground troops battling Palestinian militants in the streets early today of a densely populated Gaza City neighborhood. This is getting more and more serious by the day. Ground troops in neighborhoods? This isn't your usual hit and hit back thing that has been going on between Israel and Gaza in recent years.
It occurred to me how intresting the timing is of this. Israel picked that perfect limbo time where they know Bush will not do anything in his last week as President, and Obama has no power yet to do anything.
We just learned that in June Pres. Bush refused Israel's request to buy and use American bunker busting bombs against Iran's nuclear reactor. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also asked the United States for permission to use American air space in Iraq to attack Iran. Bush also refused that.
I suppose they thought that using this twilight time of Bush's presidency would give them a window of doing exactly what they wanted to without U.S. intervention. No permission wanted or needed.
Hillary's confirmation
The one thing that I am struck by as Hillary talks about Iran, is that it feels like something I have heard before. What could it be? She is talking about Iran having WMD's and how that is unacceptable. She is talking about the frustration with Iran not allowing inspectors in. She is talking about how Iran with a nuclear weapon is in no one's best interest.
Does this all sound familiar to you? Oh yeah...substitute Iran for Iraq and you have Hillary saying pretty much the same thing back in 2003.
If you have watched any of it, it's been a lovefest between Hillary and the Democrat Senators and that is including a great deal of self love.
I think I have come a long way. I can actually watch Hillary and totally control my gag reflex.
*Update: Speaking of Iran, I don't think they like Obama anymore than they did Bush. I thought all this was supposed to "change?" (via NRO)
Maybe Hillary's confirmation hearings will be interesting after all
I'm sure this will come as a shock to many of you. The Clintons using their political power for self interest (and money):
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State appointee Hillary Rodham Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies and others that later contributed to her husband's foundation, an Associated Press review of her official correspondence found.
via HotAir
Monday, January 12, 2009
Score one for Blago
CNN twitter is reporting that Roland Burris is expected to take Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat this week, Democratic Senate leaders say
*Update: HotAir has a perfect summation. In part:
You’ve got a popular Democratic incoming president, a Democratic lieutenant governor and secretary of state, and overwhelming Democratic majorities both in Congress and in the Illinois legislature. Everyone involved was opposed to letting Blagojevich make the pick.
And together they still couldn’t figure out a way to stop him.
Football News
Yeah, I bet you were surprised by that title, right? Because I can think of very few things I am less interested than football (except when my son is playing). But this story caught my attention for obvious reasons:
Quarterback Who Led Florida Gators to Championship Almost Victim of Abortion Gainesville, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Tim Tebow led his Florida Gators football team to become national champions last Thursday in a win over Oklahoma. On Sunday, the former Heisman Trophy winner announced he's coming back for his senior season, despite thoughts that he was looking to leave early for the NFL after pulling off the big victory. However, Tebow's accomplishments may never have been supported had his mother followed a doctor's recommendation to have an abortion. Pam Tebow and her husband were Christian missionaries in the Philippines in 1985 and they prayed for "Timmy" before she became pregnant. Pam entered into a coma after she contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in a contaminated food or drink. The treatment for the medical condition would require strong medications that doctors told Pam had caused irreversible damage to Tim -- so they advised her to have an abortion. Pam Tebow refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted. Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and, eventually, gave birth to a health baby boy in August 1987.
via Facebook/Terri's notes
You have to wonder all that we have lost through abortion.
Update: I found the source of this story, The Gainsville Sun, and the whole thing is an interesting read.
War,hate, and innocents
I facebooked a Palestinian woman the other day to ask her about the claim that Hamas uses women and children as human shields, and schools and Mosques to store weapons. I fully expected, if not a full denial, a explanation of sorts.
I got none.
What I got was a rehash of all the ills the Israel's have bestowed upon the Palestinians. In her world using innocents is an acceptable means of dealing with the situation.
I followed 2 people from Gaza on twitter. Never in my entire life, including my time growing up during the civil rights movement, have I ever experienced such a pure hatred for a people of another race or religion. Never have I experienced such name calling filth, as I read the tweets of these two Palestinians towards Jews and Israel. I was trying to get the other side of the story. I was trying to understand their view. But their view is pure unadulterated hate, and they will gladly inform you of that. All means justify the end of Israel. This is why they elected Hamas.
And if you don't believe these three people, then check out the video at HotAir of a Hamas Politician in Feb. of 2008. His words:
[The enemies of Allah] do not know that the Palestinian people has developed its [methods] of death and death-seeking. For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry, at which women excel, and so do all the people living on this land. The elderly excel at this, and so do the mujahideen and the children. This is why they have formed human shields of the women, the children, the elderly, and the mujahideen, in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine. It is as if they were saying to the Zionist enemy: “We desire death like you desire life.”
This is what we call in America......insanity. Let's just say it. It is INSANE to look at death this way. These monsters have managed to somehow brainwash a culture into believing this horrid nonsense. They don't even pretend civility.
I've tried to understand the Palestinian plight. I know these people suffer. Their suffering must stop and it must begin with Hamas no longer existing to fan the flames of hate.
Hamas hides behind women and children. Hamas stores weapons and rockets where innocents are. Israel bombs where the weapons are, where Hamas is, and kills innocent people. The Palestinian's rage grows.
It's all so wrong.
We have to admit one thing though about Israel. We would never do what they are doing. We would not target schools and Mosques as long as we knew innocent people would be there. That is not right either.
We are living it
I first read "Atlas Shrugged" when I was 17 because it is my Mom's favorite book. If you haven't read it, you should. Stephen Moore at the WSJ says we are living it. I think he may be right.
Same song, different verse
Bill Kristol in the NYT speaking of Obama's no discernible change in foreign policy:
And he seems to be going for the no-dramatic-change-in-policy-in-the-White-House alternative as well. Consider Obama’s reaction when George Stephanopoulos played a clip of Dick Cheney counseling Obama not to implement his campaign rhetoric until he’s fully briefed on the details of the Bush administration’s counterterrorism policy.
“I think that was pretty good advice, which is I should know what’s going on before we make judgments and that we shouldn’t be making judgments on the basis of incomplete information or campaign rhetoric. So I’ve got no quibble with that particular quote,” said Obama. Usually, presidents pretend their campaign positions are more than “campaign rhetoric.” Not Obama.
You have to hand it to Obama for that moment of honesty. Admitting that all that anti-war stuff was just campaign rhetoric and admitting that Cheney is right. Because it's like this....
There was a reason the Bush administration did what it did on wire tapping, interrogation, Gitmo, and military actions. It was to keep us safe here. And it did. What Obama will discover is intelligence, operations, and knowledge that we, the American public aren't privy to because of National Security (I'm sure he has been informed quite a bit now), that tells him all those things were needed and necessary. That is why Obama is backing away from his campaign rhetoric. Because Bush was right.
Now, will we hear the howling from the left for the exact same policies that Bush relied on? Of course not.
For example, on the closing of Gitmo:
But he warned that it was “more difficult than I think a lot of people realize,” explaining that while he was committed to the rule of law, he wasn’t interested “in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.”
And at one point he returned, unbidden, to the much-maligned vice president, commenting, “I thought that Dick Cheney’s advice was good.”
I can only imagine the reaction to that over at places like Kos and Huffington Post. I'm sure they are passing the Prozac around.
More on Obama and the Middle East:
With respect to the Middle East, Obama didn’t even say we’d gotten much wrong in the past. Asked by Stephanopoulos whether his policy would build on Bush’s or would be a clean break, Obama answered, “if you look not just at the Bush administration, but also what happened under the Clinton administration, you are seeing the general outlines of an approach.” So: No break.
Who are you and what have you done with Obama??
I wonder....Will we will be hated around the world? Nah, the media will report it all oh so differently.
Friday everyone was blogging about how the Guardian reported that Obama would sit down with Hamas. Now, THAT is the Obama we knew. But hold on, not true, says his spokesperson. Obama says Hamas IS a terrorist organization and won't deal with them until they recognize Israel and abide by past agreements. Well, thank you Pres. Bush..oops, I mean Pres. Obama.
I keep posting about how Obama is letting down the left on a number of things and we on the right need to give credit where credit is due. Something the left NEVER did for Pres. Bush. So let's do that.
We should be happy that Obama seems to be following the track that has kept us safe all these years since 9-11.
But it's the domestic front that keeps me concerned. Expanding government seems to be Obama's order of the day. And we all know that when it comes to government, once expanded, always expanded. And unfortunately Obama seems to be following the main path that made conservatives so angry at Bush, throwing money at government. Obama's stimulus package could reach an unbelievable 775 billion dollars or more, surpassing the already eye popping 700 billion dollars Bush used for his financial rescue package.
And with a Democratic Congress, this will all sail through.
God help us all.
At least we will stay safe while we drown in debt.