By Ali Sina
I must confess I was not impressed by Sen.
Barack Obama from the first time I saw him. At first I was
excited to see a black candidate. He looked youthful, spoke
well, appeared to be confident - a wholesome presidential
package. I was put off soon, not just because of his
shallowness but also because there was an air of haughtiness
in his demeanor that was unsettling. His posture and his
body language were louder than his empty words. Obama's
speeches are unlike any political speech we have heard in
American history. Never a politician in this land had such a
quasi 'religious' impact on so many people. The
fact that Obama is a total incognito with zero
accomplishment, makes this inexplicable infatuation
alarming. Obama is not an ordinary man. He is not a genius.
In fact he is quite ignorant on most important subjects.
Barack Obama is a narcissist. Dr. Sam Vaknin, the author of
the Malignant Self Love, also believes, 'Barack Obama
appears to be a narcissist.'
Vaknin is a world authority on narcissism.
He understands narcissism and describes the inner mind of a
narcissist like no other person. When he talks about
narcissism everyone listens. Vaknin says that Obama's
language, posture and demeanor, and the testimonies of his
closest, dearest and nearest suggest that the Senator is
either a narcissist or he may have narcissistic personality
disorder (NPD).
Narcissists project a grandiose but false
image of themselves. Jim Jones, the charismatic leader of
People's Temple, the man who led over 900 of his
followers to cheerfully commit mass suicide and even murder
their own children was also a narcissist. David Koresh,
Charles Manson, Joseph Koni, Shoko Asahara, Stalin, Saddam,
Mao, Kim Jong Ill and Adolph Hitler are a few examples of
narcissists of our time. All these men had a tremendous
influence over their fanciers. They created a personality
cult around themselves and with their blazing speeches
elevated their admirers' souls, filled their hearts with
enthusiasm and instilled in their minds a new zest for life.
They gave them hope! They promised them the moon, but alas,
invariably they brought them to their doom. When you are a
victim of a cult of personality, you don't know it until
it is too late.
One determining factor in the development
of NPD is childhood abuse. 'Obama's early life was
decidedly chaotic and replete with traumatic and mentally
bruising dislocations,' says Vaknin. 'Mixed-race
marriages were even less common then. His parents went
through a divorce when he was an infant (two years old).
Obama saw his father only once again, before he died in a
car accident. Then, his mother re-married and Obama had to
relocate to Indonesia : a foreign land with a radically
foreign culture, to be raised by a step-father. At the age
of ten, he was whisked off to live with his maternal (white)
grandparents. He saw his mother only intermittently in the
following few years and then she vanished from his life in
1979. She died of cancer in 1995.'
One must never underestimate the
manipulative genius of pathological narcissists. They
project such an imposing personality that it overwhelms
those around them. Charmed by the charisma of the
narcissist, people become like clay in his hands. They
cheerfully do his bidding and delight to be at his service.
The narcissist shapes the world around himself and reduces
others in his own inverted image. He creates a cult of
personality. His admirers become his co-dependents.
Narcissists have no interest in things that
do not help them to reach their personal objective. They are
focused on one thing alone and that is power. All other
issues are meaningless to them and they do not want to waste
their precious time on trivialities. Anything that does not
help them is beneath them and do not deserve their
attention. If an issue raised in the Senate does not help
Obama in one way or another, he has no interest in it. The
'present' vote is a safe vote. No one can
criticize him if things go wrong. Why should he implicate
himself in issues that may become controversial when they
don't help him personally? Those issues are unworthy by
their very nature because they are not about him.
Obama's election as the first black
president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and
advance to write a book about race relations. The University
of Chicago Law School provided him with a fellowship and an
office to work on his book. The book took him a lot longer
than expected and at the end it devolved into., guess what?
His own autobiography! Instead of writing a scholarly paper
focusing on race relations, for which, he had been paid,
Obama could not resist writing about his most sublime self.
He entitled the book Dreams from My Father
Not surprisingly, Adolph Hitler also wrote
his own autobiography when he was still nobody. So did
Stalin. For a narcissist no subject is as important as his
own self. Why would he waste his precious time and genius
writing about insignificant things when he can write about
such an august being as himself?
Narcissists are often callous and even
ruthless. As the norm, they lack conscience. This is evident
from Obama's lack of interest in his own brother who
lives on only one dollar per month. A man who lives in
luxury, who takes a private jet to vacation in Hawaii, and
who has raised nearly half a billion dollars for his
campaign (something unprecedented in history) has no
interest in the plight of his own brother. Why? Because, his
brother cannot be used for his ascent to power. A narcissist
cares for no one but himself.
This election is like no other in the
history of America The issues are insignificant compared to
what is at stake. What can be more dangerous than having a
man bereft of conscience, a serial liar, and one who cannot
distinguish his fantasies from reality as the leader of the
free world?
I hate to sound alarmist, but one must be a
fool if one is not alarmed. Many politicians are
narcissists. They pose no threat to others.. They are simply
self serving and selfish. Obama evinces symptoms of
pathological narcissism, which is different from the
run-of-the-mill narcissism of a Richard Nixon or a Bill
Clinton, for example. To him reality and fantasy are
intertwined. This is a mental health issue, not just a
character flaw. Pathological narcissists are dangerous
because they look normal and even intelligent. It is this
disguise that makes them treacherous.
Today the Democrats have placed all their
hopes in Obama. But this man could put an end to their
party. The great majority of blacks have also decided to
vote for Obama. Only a fool does not know that their support
for him is racially driven.
Let us call a spade a spade. This is
racism, pure and simple. The truth is that while everyone
carries a misconceived collective guilt towards the blacks
for wrongs done centuries ago by a bygone people to a bygone
people, the blacks carry a collective rancor, enmity or
vendetta towards non-blacks and to this day want to
'stand up' to the white man.. They seem to be
stuck in 19th century.
The downside of this is that if Obama turns
out to be the disaster I predict, he will cause widespread
resentment among the whites. The blacks are unlikely to give
up their support of their man. Cultic mentality is
pernicious and unrelenting. They will dig their heads deeper
in the sand and blame Obama's detractors of racism. This
will cause a backlash among the whites. The white
supremacists will take advantage of the discontent and they
will receive widespread support. I predict that in less than
four years, racial tensions will increase to levels never
seen since the turbulent 1960s. Obama will set the clock
back decades. America is the bastion of freedom. The peace
of the world depends on the strength of America , and its
weakness translates into the triumph of terrorism and
victory of rogue nations. It is no wonder that Ahmadi nejad,
Hugo Chavez, the Castrists, the Hezbollah, the Hamas, the
lawyers of the Guantanamo terrorists and virtually all sworn
enemies of America are so thrilled by the prospect of their
man in the White House. America is on the verge of
destruction. There is no insanity greater than electing a
pathological narcissist as president.
Unmasking Pro-abortion Congressmen, Senators, and Candidates for Public Office
Join the campaign to unmask the lies and hypocrisy of pro-abortion Congressmen, Senators, and candidates for public office. Click hereAn Open Letter to “Pro-choice” Candidates
October 27, 2008
Dear brothers and sisters,
In these days you are seeking the votes of your fellow Americans for public office. At the same time, you take the position that abortion, however regrettable it may be, should remain legal.
I write to express the convictions of tens of millions of citizens. Your position is a blatant contradiction to the very meaning of public service, the first requirement of which is to be able to tell the difference between serving the public and killing the public!
We ask, first of all, Have you ever seen an abortion? So many who defend abortion’s legality cannot even bring themselves to look at the horrifying pictures of children torn apart by the procedure (http://www.unborn.info/). But if we cannot look at it, why should we tolerate it?
We likewise ask, Are you willing to publicly describe what you think should be legal? Abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell, in sworn testimony, described the “D and E” abortion procedure, still legal throughout our nation, by saying, “Typically the skull is brought out in fragments rather than as a unified piece…" (Madison, WI, May 27, 1999, Case No. 98-C-0305-S). In the same case, abortionist Dr. Hylan Raymond Giles, when asked, “Can the heart of a fetus or embryo still be beating during a suction curettage abortion as the fetus or embryo comes down the cannula?” answered, “For a few seconds to a minute, yes.”
When you say the word “abortion,” is this what you mean? When you say it should be legal, are you willing to quote those who explain what it is?
Your position is undermining the fabric of our nation. We repeat to you again the question posed by Mother Teresa in her speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC on February 3, 1994. “And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"
We have not yet heard a “pro-choice” candidate answer any of these questions.
That’s why people cannot vote for you, and you shouldn’t be asking for their vote. If you can’t respect and protect the life of a little baby, how are you supposed to respect and protect our lives, or any other right we possess?
When you ask citizens for their vote, you are actually asking them to share in your failure to protect these children. You’re asking them to share in the deception by which you justify that failure. You’re asking them, too, to contradict the meaning of public service. They are not morally permitted to say yes to what you are asking.
We in the pro-life movement do not need any reminders about the plight of young mothers. We serve them every day, providing real alternatives to abortion.
Nor do we accept the accusation that we are narrowly focused on a “single issue.” We are not ashamed of the fact that we recognize a holocaust when we see one, and that we understand the foundation, heart, and core of our concern for all the other issues – life itself.
We’re not a vote for you to court or an interest group for you to appease. Rather, our movement represents the heart and core of every movement for justice. That is why, whether you end up elected to public office or not, we will be there – in the halls of government, in the media, and on the streets of every city, town, and countryside across America – pressing the cause of justice for a group of human beings whose rights you have forgotten.
We will neither cease to remind you, nor will we wait for you to remember. Our cause is as great as America itself, and it will prevail. May you have the wisdom to join us.
Sincerely,
Fr. Frank Pavone
Dear brothers and sisters,
In these days you are seeking the votes of your fellow Americans for public office. At the same time, you take the position that abortion, however regrettable it may be, should remain legal.
I write to express the convictions of tens of millions of citizens. Your position is a blatant contradiction to the very meaning of public service, the first requirement of which is to be able to tell the difference between serving the public and killing the public!
We ask, first of all, Have you ever seen an abortion? So many who defend abortion’s legality cannot even bring themselves to look at the horrifying pictures of children torn apart by the procedure (http://www.unborn.info/). But if we cannot look at it, why should we tolerate it?
We likewise ask, Are you willing to publicly describe what you think should be legal? Abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell, in sworn testimony, described the “D and E” abortion procedure, still legal throughout our nation, by saying, “Typically the skull is brought out in fragments rather than as a unified piece…" (Madison, WI, May 27, 1999, Case No. 98-C-0305-S). In the same case, abortionist Dr. Hylan Raymond Giles, when asked, “Can the heart of a fetus or embryo still be beating during a suction curettage abortion as the fetus or embryo comes down the cannula?” answered, “For a few seconds to a minute, yes.”
When you say the word “abortion,” is this what you mean? When you say it should be legal, are you willing to quote those who explain what it is?
Your position is undermining the fabric of our nation. We repeat to you again the question posed by Mother Teresa in her speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC on February 3, 1994. “And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"
We have not yet heard a “pro-choice” candidate answer any of these questions.
That’s why people cannot vote for you, and you shouldn’t be asking for their vote. If you can’t respect and protect the life of a little baby, how are you supposed to respect and protect our lives, or any other right we possess?
When you ask citizens for their vote, you are actually asking them to share in your failure to protect these children. You’re asking them to share in the deception by which you justify that failure. You’re asking them, too, to contradict the meaning of public service. They are not morally permitted to say yes to what you are asking.
We in the pro-life movement do not need any reminders about the plight of young mothers. We serve them every day, providing real alternatives to abortion.
Nor do we accept the accusation that we are narrowly focused on a “single issue.” We are not ashamed of the fact that we recognize a holocaust when we see one, and that we understand the foundation, heart, and core of our concern for all the other issues – life itself.
We’re not a vote for you to court or an interest group for you to appease. Rather, our movement represents the heart and core of every movement for justice. That is why, whether you end up elected to public office or not, we will be there – in the halls of government, in the media, and on the streets of every city, town, and countryside across America – pressing the cause of justice for a group of human beings whose rights you have forgotten.
We will neither cease to remind you, nor will we wait for you to remember. Our cause is as great as America itself, and it will prevail. May you have the wisdom to join us.
Sincerely,
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
Anne Rice from vampires to Jesus
It's Halloween, and Anne Rice has a new book — a memoir in fact — that's climbing best-seller lists. Everything is normal, then.
Normal if it were 1994 — the height of Rice's megaselling fame as a queen of Southern Gothic pulp.
For those who haven't been paying attention lately to vampire lit, America's most famous chronicler of bloodsuckers doesn't live in New Orleans anymore — and hasn't since before Hurricane Katrina hit — and she's riding new waves of enthusiasm: the memoir and Christian lit.
Her memoir, "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession," is the latest piece of evidence that Rice is reinventing herself in an attempt to build a reputation as a serious Christian writer.
In the memoir, the 67-year-old writer doesn't disavow the two decades she spent churning out books on vampires, demons and witches — with a batch of S&M erotica thrown in — following the breakout success of her first novel in 1976, "Interview With the Vampire."
But she's clearly moved on.
In a telephone interview from her mountain home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Rice laid out her goal:
"To be able to take the tools, the apprenticeship, whatever I learned from being a vampire writer, or whatever I was — to be able to take those tools now and put them in the service of God is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful opportunity," she said. "And I hope I can redeem myself in that way. I hope that the Lord will accept the books I am writing now."
The memoir follows the release of two books in a planned four-part, first-person chronicle of the life of Jesus.
And in this new 245-page memoir, Rice presents her former life as vampire writer as that of a soul-searching wanderer in the deserts of atheism; as someone akin to her most famous literary creations — Lestat, her "dark search engine," Louis the aristocrat-turned-vampire and Egyptian Queen Akasha, "the mother of all vampires."
"I do think that those dark books were always talking about religion in their own way. They were talking about the grief for a lost faith," she said.
In 2002, Rice broke away completely from atheism — nearly four decades after she gave up her Roman Catholic faith as the 1960s started. It happened when she went off to college and found her peers talking about existentialism — Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre. Religion, she writes, was too restrictive to the young Rice. Too out of step.
Yet, religion had to come back into her life, she writes. For her, it was something she'd have to face up to again like an absent parent or a long-lost love child or Banquo the ghost in Macbeth.
By the late 1990s, when she went back to Mass, Rice — the author whose books sold in the tens of millions and who had recharged Hollywood's appetite for vampire-inspired horror — had fallen on hard times.
Full Story
Normal if it were 1994 — the height of Rice's megaselling fame as a queen of Southern Gothic pulp.
For those who haven't been paying attention lately to vampire lit, America's most famous chronicler of bloodsuckers doesn't live in New Orleans anymore — and hasn't since before Hurricane Katrina hit — and she's riding new waves of enthusiasm: the memoir and Christian lit.
Her memoir, "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession," is the latest piece of evidence that Rice is reinventing herself in an attempt to build a reputation as a serious Christian writer.
In the memoir, the 67-year-old writer doesn't disavow the two decades she spent churning out books on vampires, demons and witches — with a batch of S&M erotica thrown in — following the breakout success of her first novel in 1976, "Interview With the Vampire."
But she's clearly moved on.
In a telephone interview from her mountain home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Rice laid out her goal:
"To be able to take the tools, the apprenticeship, whatever I learned from being a vampire writer, or whatever I was — to be able to take those tools now and put them in the service of God is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful opportunity," she said. "And I hope I can redeem myself in that way. I hope that the Lord will accept the books I am writing now."
The memoir follows the release of two books in a planned four-part, first-person chronicle of the life of Jesus.
And in this new 245-page memoir, Rice presents her former life as vampire writer as that of a soul-searching wanderer in the deserts of atheism; as someone akin to her most famous literary creations — Lestat, her "dark search engine," Louis the aristocrat-turned-vampire and Egyptian Queen Akasha, "the mother of all vampires."
"I do think that those dark books were always talking about religion in their own way. They were talking about the grief for a lost faith," she said.
In 2002, Rice broke away completely from atheism — nearly four decades after she gave up her Roman Catholic faith as the 1960s started. It happened when she went off to college and found her peers talking about existentialism — Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre. Religion, she writes, was too restrictive to the young Rice. Too out of step.
Yet, religion had to come back into her life, she writes. For her, it was something she'd have to face up to again like an absent parent or a long-lost love child or Banquo the ghost in Macbeth.
By the late 1990s, when she went back to Mass, Rice — the author whose books sold in the tens of millions and who had recharged Hollywood's appetite for vampire-inspired horror — had fallen on hard times.
Full Story
Socking it to the Airlines at Pittsburgh International
With all the problems air carriers face with high fuel costs and a looming recession, slapping them with a 48.5 percent increase in per passenger costs at Pittsburgh International is probably the most counterproductive move the Airport Authority could make. Amazingly, that is what they have just done, approving a budget that includes revenues generated from a $5.43 per passenger cost hike from higher terminal charges, a big jump in ramp fees and substantially greater landing fees. Continue
Murtha, Murtha, Murtha!
(To be repeated like Jan Brady’s, “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!”)
The “Right Wing Attack Machine” has been resurrected according to embattled Johnstown Congressman John Murtha. And what is the “Right Wing Attack Machine” doing? They are simply playing audio clips of Murtha:
Slamming his constituents as “racists”
Slamming his constituents as “rednecks”
Claiming that no G** D*** way will a “carpet bagging” [Marine] be elected in his heavily Democrat district
And lest anyone forget…..
Accusing our Marines in Iraq of committing cold blooded murder
It seems to this observer that all of the Murtha “attacks” are all actually self-inflicted. Now Murtha is appealing to Moveon.org for support, and in an email to supporters, is begging for an additional $1 million to fight these “attacks”. You gotta love it – Murtha begging for campaign contributions in order to respond to his own sound bites.
The “Right Wing Attack Machine” has been resurrected according to embattled Johnstown Congressman John Murtha. And what is the “Right Wing Attack Machine” doing? They are simply playing audio clips of Murtha:
Slamming his constituents as “racists”
Slamming his constituents as “rednecks”
Claiming that no G** D*** way will a “carpet bagging” [Marine] be elected in his heavily Democrat district
And lest anyone forget…..
Accusing our Marines in Iraq of committing cold blooded murder
It seems to this observer that all of the Murtha “attacks” are all actually self-inflicted. Now Murtha is appealing to Moveon.org for support, and in an email to supporters, is begging for an additional $1 million to fight these “attacks”. You gotta love it – Murtha begging for campaign contributions in order to respond to his own sound bites.
Federal Judge Mandates Paper Ballots, Citing 'Real Danger' Pennsylvania Voting Machines Will Fail
From the story: A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that because there is a "real danger" that a significant number of voting machines will fail in Pennsylvania on Election Day, emergency paper ballots must be available if at least 50 percent of the state's electronic voting machines in each polling place break down.
"The right to vote is at the foundation of our constitutional form of government," U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III wrote, "Protection of this right under the circumstances presented here is without question in the public interest."
Pedro Cortes, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, had argued that local election officials should distribute paper ballots to eligible voters only if all of the electronic voting machines in a polling place become inoperable. In court papers he argued that mandating the paper ballots if half of the machines broke down would cause a burden to election workers so close to the election and that it would be difficult to safeguard the integrity of the polling place with the paper ballots. Read more….
I agree that a paper backup is a good idea. But many of these same people are also pushing for a paper receipt given to the voter showing their voting selections. This is a bad idea, enabling many to “sell” their vote based on their “receipt”.
"The right to vote is at the foundation of our constitutional form of government," U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III wrote, "Protection of this right under the circumstances presented here is without question in the public interest."
Pedro Cortes, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, had argued that local election officials should distribute paper ballots to eligible voters only if all of the electronic voting machines in a polling place become inoperable. In court papers he argued that mandating the paper ballots if half of the machines broke down would cause a burden to election workers so close to the election and that it would be difficult to safeguard the integrity of the polling place with the paper ballots. Read more….
I agree that a paper backup is a good idea. But many of these same people are also pushing for a paper receipt given to the voter showing their voting selections. This is a bad idea, enabling many to “sell” their vote based on their “receipt”.
Joe The Plumber And The Homeless
From Gary Bauer: Two news stories out of Ohio yesterday provide us with a telling glimpse into the leftwing mindset of America’s elites.
A federal judge (a Clinton appointee) ruled that homeless people can list their “park bench” as a valid “home” for the purposes of voting. Now, obviously, this ruling makes voter fraud much more likely. But the Left, knowing it can exploit these “voters,” will make grand idealistic arguments that a liberal federal judge will buy into regarding the “rights” of the homeless. And there are widespread reports of street people being given alcohol and money in exchange for voting for Obama.
Contrast this with how Ohio government officials have treated another citizen – Joe Wurzelbacher, the now famous plumber. Joe pays taxes. His taxes go, in part, to help the homeless. He lives in a home. He is a free citizen of these great United States. He is an informed voter. He responsibly exercised his right of free speech to tell a candidate for public office that if he raised taxes, it would hurt people like Joe, who is working very hard to buy his own small business. As of today, at least three Ohio government employees (including a police clerk!) have admitted to using government computers and resources to find information on Joe to smear him in the public square.
The contrast could scarcely be more stark. The Left exploits the homeless for its own political gain and endangers the integrity of our elections, while it declares war on the shop keeper, the plumber, the entrepreneur and the businessman.
A federal judge (a Clinton appointee) ruled that homeless people can list their “park bench” as a valid “home” for the purposes of voting. Now, obviously, this ruling makes voter fraud much more likely. But the Left, knowing it can exploit these “voters,” will make grand idealistic arguments that a liberal federal judge will buy into regarding the “rights” of the homeless. And there are widespread reports of street people being given alcohol and money in exchange for voting for Obama.
Contrast this with how Ohio government officials have treated another citizen – Joe Wurzelbacher, the now famous plumber. Joe pays taxes. His taxes go, in part, to help the homeless. He lives in a home. He is a free citizen of these great United States. He is an informed voter. He responsibly exercised his right of free speech to tell a candidate for public office that if he raised taxes, it would hurt people like Joe, who is working very hard to buy his own small business. As of today, at least three Ohio government employees (including a police clerk!) have admitted to using government computers and resources to find information on Joe to smear him in the public square.
The contrast could scarcely be more stark. The Left exploits the homeless for its own political gain and endangers the integrity of our elections, while it declares war on the shop keeper, the plumber, the entrepreneur and the businessman.
L.A. Times Refuses To Release Obama Video
From the story: The Los Angeles Times says it will not release a video it obtained of Sen. Barack Obama attending an anti-Israel event in which he delivered a glowing testimonial for an anti-Israel professor who excuses terrorism.
"When we reported on the tape six months ago, that was our full report," Times spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan told the Politico website, refusing to elaborate on the reason behind keeping the tape under wrap.
[In the] videotape the Times said it obtained [shows] Obama delivering in-person testimonial in 2003 at the farewell party of anti-Israel professor Rashid Khalidi, who at the time was departing the University of Chicago for a new teaching position at Columbia University.
Khalidi's farewell dinner was replete with anti-Israel speakers.
One, a young Palestinian American, recited a poem in Obama's presence that accused the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticized U.S. support of Israel, the Times reported.
Another speaker, who reportedly talked while Obama was present, compared "Zionist settlers on the West Bank" to Osama bin Laden. Read more...
"When we reported on the tape six months ago, that was our full report," Times spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan told the Politico website, refusing to elaborate on the reason behind keeping the tape under wrap.
[In the] videotape the Times said it obtained [shows] Obama delivering in-person testimonial in 2003 at the farewell party of anti-Israel professor Rashid Khalidi, who at the time was departing the University of Chicago for a new teaching position at Columbia University.
Khalidi's farewell dinner was replete with anti-Israel speakers.
One, a young Palestinian American, recited a poem in Obama's presence that accused the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticized U.S. support of Israel, the Times reported.
Another speaker, who reportedly talked while Obama was present, compared "Zionist settlers on the West Bank" to Osama bin Laden. Read more...
ACORN Owes Millions in Taxes
From the story: An intrepid researcher has discovered more than 200 tax liens totaling more than $3.7 million have been filed by the government against the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now for unpaid taxes since the late eighties.
The conservative-leaning Capital Research Center’s Matthew Vadum found a staggering number of liens listed against ACORN’s national headquarters at 1024 Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana while conducting an exhaustive investigation of ACORN's history and current activities. Read more...
Tell me again why these people are still receiving taxpayer funds to file thousands of fraudulent voter registrations?
The conservative-leaning Capital Research Center’s Matthew Vadum found a staggering number of liens listed against ACORN’s national headquarters at 1024 Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana while conducting an exhaustive investigation of ACORN's history and current activities. Read more...
Tell me again why these people are still receiving taxpayer funds to file thousands of fraudulent voter registrations?
Pa. college, student group settle free speech suit
Shippensburg University and a religious student group have settled a lawsuit over alleged violations of free speech rights.
The Christian Fellowship of Shippensburg University asserted in a federal lawsuit filed in May that it had been threatened with being shut down because it requires members to be Christians and its president to be a man.
The group said the state-owned university violated a 2004 settlement of a separate lawsuit over the school's student code of conduct.
In the 2004 case, a civil liberties group sued the university over a student code barring "acts of intolerance" including racist, sexist and homophobic speech. University officials said they would revise the code after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of that provision.
The Washington-based Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom said the latest lawsuit stemmed from Christian Fellowship's expulsion from campus by the student senate in February in a dispute over its membership and leadership requirements.
The group, which has been recognized by the university since the early 1970s, was later told it could resume operations but said it feared the possibility of further sanctions.
The Alliance Defense Fund said Thursday that the university "has agreed to correct the policies and respect the constitutional rights of its students."
Shippensburg confirmed Thursday that the suit had been settled and said in a statement that it had not disciplined students for violating rules about speech, "nor has the university taken action against a student organization based on its membership criteria."
The Christian Fellowship of Shippensburg University asserted in a federal lawsuit filed in May that it had been threatened with being shut down because it requires members to be Christians and its president to be a man.
The group said the state-owned university violated a 2004 settlement of a separate lawsuit over the school's student code of conduct.
In the 2004 case, a civil liberties group sued the university over a student code barring "acts of intolerance" including racist, sexist and homophobic speech. University officials said they would revise the code after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of that provision.
The Washington-based Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom said the latest lawsuit stemmed from Christian Fellowship's expulsion from campus by the student senate in February in a dispute over its membership and leadership requirements.
The group, which has been recognized by the university since the early 1970s, was later told it could resume operations but said it feared the possibility of further sanctions.
The Alliance Defense Fund said Thursday that the university "has agreed to correct the policies and respect the constitutional rights of its students."
Shippensburg confirmed Thursday that the suit had been settled and said in a statement that it had not disciplined students for violating rules about speech, "nor has the university taken action against a student organization based on its membership criteria."
The winners and losers at Pa. slots
Two years into its gamble to open 14 casinos across the state, Pennsylvania is halfway there - and is reaping what it has sown. As promised, slots parlors have brought stable jobs and serious revenue to the state, but the harvest has not come without a human toll. Read More
State deficit may aid GOP
Voters making decisions in state House and Senate races Nov. 4 need to be aware of the stakes. The people they elect will be dealing with what's been predicted to be a staggering state deficit. Read More
Ridge retreats from remark
Former Gov. Tom Ridge said that John McCain can't become president without carrying the state and that the race would be different if McCain had chosen him as his running mate. Ridge later said his remarks were taken out of context. Read More
Fireworks Company to Long Island Town: No Christmas, No Fireworks
The annual battle for Christmas has begun early this year, with the announcement that the internationally known fireworks company, Grucci, has pulled out of an annual Christmas event on Long Island.
Grucci made the decision in protest against the town of Patchogue’s decision to break with its 15-year tradition of holding a Christmas Boat Parade and instead to rename the event the Patchogue Holiday Boat Parade.
Grucci vice president Phil Butler, a vocal critic of the secularization of Christmas, accused the parade’s organizers of “using all the themes of Christmas and plagiarizing all those themes.” Grucci is headquartered on Long Island.
"When I think about fireworks, I don't think about Christmas anyway," Mayor Paul Pontieri said in response to Grucci’s decision. "I think about the Fourth of July."
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commended Butler’s decision. “If more people like Phil Butler stood up to the high priests of political correctness, the dumbing-down of Christmas would cease.”
“Christmas is the only holiday that is singled out by these authoritarians,” continued Donohue. “They do not object to Jewish or Muslim holidays, nor do they object to holidays like Martin Luther King Day. And they relish Kwanzaa celebrations. But when it comes to Christmas, they quickly become censors.
“So Kudos to Grucci. Let this be the first of many counterpunches thrown at the cultural fascists this year.”
Grucci made the decision in protest against the town of Patchogue’s decision to break with its 15-year tradition of holding a Christmas Boat Parade and instead to rename the event the Patchogue Holiday Boat Parade.
Grucci vice president Phil Butler, a vocal critic of the secularization of Christmas, accused the parade’s organizers of “using all the themes of Christmas and plagiarizing all those themes.” Grucci is headquartered on Long Island.
"When I think about fireworks, I don't think about Christmas anyway," Mayor Paul Pontieri said in response to Grucci’s decision. "I think about the Fourth of July."
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commended Butler’s decision. “If more people like Phil Butler stood up to the high priests of political correctness, the dumbing-down of Christmas would cease.”
“Christmas is the only holiday that is singled out by these authoritarians,” continued Donohue. “They do not object to Jewish or Muslim holidays, nor do they object to holidays like Martin Luther King Day. And they relish Kwanzaa celebrations. But when it comes to Christmas, they quickly become censors.
“So Kudos to Grucci. Let this be the first of many counterpunches thrown at the cultural fascists this year.”
Bishop Brandt of Greensburg Reprimands Catholic University for Hosting Infamous Pro-Obama Professor
Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of Greensburg, PA issued a statement this week disapproving of Seton Hill University’s invitation to Dr. Douglas Kmiec.
Dr. Douglas Kmiec has publicly endorsed the campaign of Senator Barack Obama, and has spent time touring the States with the Democratic presidential candidate. His recent book, entitled “Can a Catholic Support Him?” argues that Catholics can vote for the radically pro-abortion candidate in good conscience. Kmiec was denied Holy Communion by a priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and has been widely castigated by Catholic leaders for his public advocacy of the Obama campaign.
The Catholic Liberal Arts institution in Greensburg, PA, which also has “pro-McCain” links on its website, did not inform Bishop Brandt of its intentions to host the professor. The bishop only learned of the invitation on October 21st. When pro-life protesters of the speech appealed to the University on the grounds that Kmiec’s “rhetoric is against Catholic Church teaching,” Seton Hill University officials reportedly defended the campus appearance.
Bishop Brandt has been outspoken about abortion issues in the past. His first pastoral letter after his inauguration in 2004 addressed public officials and their position on abortion.
He wrote: “The Catholic Church alone determines what it means to be Catholic, what the Church’s core doctrinal holdings are, and what is required to be a Catholic in good standing. No institution of higher education, no political party, no board of trustees, no think tank, no group of theologians, no newspaper, no individual, no one – no matter how well intentioned – does this except the Catholic Church itself through its official teaching authority.”
The bishop told the Catholic News Agency that Kmiec “distorts Catholic teaching by making it synonymous with his own personal views.” He states that it is inappropriate to grant someone like Kmiec the honor of a platform at any Catholic institution.
To vote pro-abortion habitually, wrote the bishop in 2004, involves “an established pattern of public rejection of a core teaching of the Church,” and a person who does so “is engaged in public cooperation with a grave moral evil.”
Dr. Douglas Kmiec has publicly endorsed the campaign of Senator Barack Obama, and has spent time touring the States with the Democratic presidential candidate. His recent book, entitled “Can a Catholic Support Him?” argues that Catholics can vote for the radically pro-abortion candidate in good conscience. Kmiec was denied Holy Communion by a priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and has been widely castigated by Catholic leaders for his public advocacy of the Obama campaign.
The Catholic Liberal Arts institution in Greensburg, PA, which also has “pro-McCain” links on its website, did not inform Bishop Brandt of its intentions to host the professor. The bishop only learned of the invitation on October 21st. When pro-life protesters of the speech appealed to the University on the grounds that Kmiec’s “rhetoric is against Catholic Church teaching,” Seton Hill University officials reportedly defended the campus appearance.
Bishop Brandt has been outspoken about abortion issues in the past. His first pastoral letter after his inauguration in 2004 addressed public officials and their position on abortion.
He wrote: “The Catholic Church alone determines what it means to be Catholic, what the Church’s core doctrinal holdings are, and what is required to be a Catholic in good standing. No institution of higher education, no political party, no board of trustees, no think tank, no group of theologians, no newspaper, no individual, no one – no matter how well intentioned – does this except the Catholic Church itself through its official teaching authority.”
The bishop told the Catholic News Agency that Kmiec “distorts Catholic teaching by making it synonymous with his own personal views.” He states that it is inappropriate to grant someone like Kmiec the honor of a platform at any Catholic institution.
To vote pro-abortion habitually, wrote the bishop in 2004, involves “an established pattern of public rejection of a core teaching of the Church,” and a person who does so “is engaged in public cooperation with a grave moral evil.”
Morning News Shows Ignore Obama Redistributionist Radio Interview
Forget Joe the Plumber – the main stream media’s silence on this breaking story speaks volumes. Newsbusters states: "... how do those same networks react when a radio interview surfaces of Barack Obama in a radical call for the redistribution of wealth, in which he laments the Supreme Court's insufficient radicalism in pursuing redistribution and refers to the civil rights movement's failure to develop a better strategy to bring about wealth redistribution as a "tragedy"?"
Since this is not mere socialist Income Redistribution, but Wealth Redistribution as typically done by totalitarian regimes, this extends well beyond income to other areas.
Since this is not mere socialist Income Redistribution, but Wealth Redistribution as typically done by totalitarian regimes, this extends well beyond income to other areas.
Lawsuit is filed over ballot rule in Pennsylvania
Concerned that voting machine breakdowns could cause long lines on Election Day, particularly in minority neighborhoods, several groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday to force Pennsylvania election officials to provide paper ballots when half the machines in a precinct have failed. Read More
A personal twist at Fumo trial
The case against Vincent J. Fumo took a personal turn yesterday, when his estranged son-in-law testified that he was hired to work in the state senator's legislative office but spent much of his time overseeing renovations at Fumo's mansion. Read More
Sarah Palin Speaks with Dr. Dobson
In an interview on Monday with Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke about how her Christian beliefs guide both her personal and public life and the impact her faith has had on the current election campaign.
Governor Palin has not focused on her faith during the campaign, but is nevertheless unequivocal about publicly and openly expressing her position on faith, life and family issues.
When Dr. Dobson inquired about the importance of faith in her life, Governor Palin said, "It is my foundation, yes, my Christian faith is."
Dr. Dobson asked her to explain how she discerned God's will in the birth of her youngest child Trig, born with Down syndrome: "I was about 13 weeks along when I found out that Trig would be born with Downs Syndrome. To be honest with you, it scared me though, and I knew it would be a challenge and I had to really be on my knees for the entire rest of the pregnancy asking that God would prepare my heart. And just the second he was born it was absolute confirmation that that prayer was answered."
Gov. Palin added, "I've always had near and dear to my heart the mission of protecting the sanctity of life and being pro-life, a hardcore pro-lifer, but I think this opportunity for me to really be walking the walk and not just talking the talk. …
“I feel so privileged and blessed to have been, I guess, chosen to have Trig enter our lives because I do want it to help us in our cause here in allowing America to be a more welcoming nation for all of our children."
The discussion then turned to the Republican platform on life issues, which Dr. Dobson said is the "the strongest pro-life, pro-family document to come out of a political party, even more so than the platforms during the campaigns of Ronald Reagan."
"Dr. Dobson thank you so much for recognizing that," Gov. Palin responded.
"This is a strong platform [built] around the planks in this platform that respect life and respect the entrepreneurial spirit of this great country and those things, back to the social issues that are what Republicans, at least in the past, had articulated and tried to stand on. They're there, they're solid, we stand on them and again I believe that it is the right agenda for the country at this time."
When Dr. Dobson asked Gov. Palin whether she thinks Sen. McCain "also strongly supports those views" on life and family issues and "will implement it," she said, "I do, from the bottom of my heart. I am such a strong believer that McCain believes in those strong planks and we do have good conversations about some of the details too of the different planks and what they represent."
"It's most important ... that Americans know that John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America."
Gov. Palin mentioned what she called the "Mainstream Media Filter," the agenda-driven media bias she believe is prevalent in journalism.
"You can't pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful ... this is where my faith becomes even more important to me. I have to have faith that our message will get out to the American people minus the filter of the mainstream media. ... We can't get that message through the mainstream media. ... I have to have that faith that God's going to help us get that message out there."
Dr. Dobson asked whether Gov. Palin was discouraged by polls showing the Republicans behind the Democrats.
"I am not discouraged at all, even hearing those poll numbers," Gov. Palin replied. "To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder and it also strengthens my faith because I'm going to know at the end of the day, putting this in God's hands, that the right thing for America will be done, the end of the day on November 4th. "
Governor Palin has not focused on her faith during the campaign, but is nevertheless unequivocal about publicly and openly expressing her position on faith, life and family issues.
When Dr. Dobson inquired about the importance of faith in her life, Governor Palin said, "It is my foundation, yes, my Christian faith is."
Dr. Dobson asked her to explain how she discerned God's will in the birth of her youngest child Trig, born with Down syndrome: "I was about 13 weeks along when I found out that Trig would be born with Downs Syndrome. To be honest with you, it scared me though, and I knew it would be a challenge and I had to really be on my knees for the entire rest of the pregnancy asking that God would prepare my heart. And just the second he was born it was absolute confirmation that that prayer was answered."
Gov. Palin added, "I've always had near and dear to my heart the mission of protecting the sanctity of life and being pro-life, a hardcore pro-lifer, but I think this opportunity for me to really be walking the walk and not just talking the talk. …
“I feel so privileged and blessed to have been, I guess, chosen to have Trig enter our lives because I do want it to help us in our cause here in allowing America to be a more welcoming nation for all of our children."
The discussion then turned to the Republican platform on life issues, which Dr. Dobson said is the "the strongest pro-life, pro-family document to come out of a political party, even more so than the platforms during the campaigns of Ronald Reagan."
"Dr. Dobson thank you so much for recognizing that," Gov. Palin responded.
"This is a strong platform [built] around the planks in this platform that respect life and respect the entrepreneurial spirit of this great country and those things, back to the social issues that are what Republicans, at least in the past, had articulated and tried to stand on. They're there, they're solid, we stand on them and again I believe that it is the right agenda for the country at this time."
When Dr. Dobson asked Gov. Palin whether she thinks Sen. McCain "also strongly supports those views" on life and family issues and "will implement it," she said, "I do, from the bottom of my heart. I am such a strong believer that McCain believes in those strong planks and we do have good conversations about some of the details too of the different planks and what they represent."
"It's most important ... that Americans know that John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America."
Gov. Palin mentioned what she called the "Mainstream Media Filter," the agenda-driven media bias she believe is prevalent in journalism.
"You can't pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful ... this is where my faith becomes even more important to me. I have to have faith that our message will get out to the American people minus the filter of the mainstream media. ... We can't get that message through the mainstream media. ... I have to have that faith that God's going to help us get that message out there."
Dr. Dobson asked whether Gov. Palin was discouraged by polls showing the Republicans behind the Democrats.
"I am not discouraged at all, even hearing those poll numbers," Gov. Palin replied. "To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder and it also strengthens my faith because I'm going to know at the end of the day, putting this in God's hands, that the right thing for America will be done, the end of the day on November 4th. "
Back Again
Posting has been light this week. The first part of the week I was in Chicago meeting with Tom Kehoe of Kehoe Designs. I'm in the process of launching a new company here in Pittsburgh and Tom was kind enough to consult with me on e few things. I will let you know more as things develop.
Wednesday night I returned to Pittsburgh to attend the grand opening of Ditka's in Robinson Township. Being from Chicago and a Bears Fan it was a thrill to meet Mike Ditka in person.
So it' been a busy week.
I'm currently booking both private and public holiday parties. If you are looking for a DJ or need help planning your next event please contact me via email at piercepgh@gmail.com
Wednesday night I returned to Pittsburgh to attend the grand opening of Ditka's in Robinson Township. Being from Chicago and a Bears Fan it was a thrill to meet Mike Ditka in person.
So it' been a busy week.
I'm currently booking both private and public holiday parties. If you are looking for a DJ or need help planning your next event please contact me via email at piercepgh@gmail.com
Analyzing the Talk About a Transit Shutdown
For months we have been watching a marathon bargaining impasse between the County Executive and the Port Authority Board on one side and the Amalgamated Transit workers on the other. The impasse is characterized by union intransigence over retiree health benefits and a threat by the Chief Executive to force the system to shut down through the creation of a massive revenue shortfall by withholding matching funds needed to gain the release of state assistance. The Executive has stated forcefully that if the union does not make substantial concessions on legacy costs and other issues, he will not release County funds being generated by the new drink and car rental taxes. Continue
The Great Transit Tax Grab of 2008
In a stunning stretch of logic and reason, the County Executive—the same County Executive who has gone to great lengths to convince the public that new taxes on drinks and car rentals were enacted to provide dedicated funding for mass transit—now wants to use any excess from the taxes to fund road and bridge projects in the County. Continue
Pennsylvania law tries to cut electricity usage
Pennsylvania has begun a major effort to cut electricity use, requiring the state's 11 utilities to not only stop power usage from rising, but to cut it starting in 2011.
Legislation that Gov. Ed Rendell signed Wednesday requires the utilities to cut annual electricity usage by at least 1 percent by May 31, 2011, based on usage estimates made by state regulators, who can take into account a major anomaly, such as an unusually hot summer or a substantial surge in demand from a new user, such as a factory.
To ensure that utilities take the task seriously, the new law allows up to $20 million in penalties for failure to meet the benchmarks for electricity usage cuts.
"That certainly should get the companies to look at what's been going on around the country and adopt some of the more successful programs," said Sonny Popowsky, the state's utility consumer advocate and a supporter of the new law.
Utilities will have to find ways to get people and businesses to use less electricity on the hottest summer days, when electricity is the most expensive. That could include enrolling the owners of homes and office buildings in a program to temporarily switch off hot water heaters or air conditioners.
To cut electricity usage at all other times, utilities will have to get more fluorescent lamps into light sockets to replace less efficient incandescent bulbs.
They will have to figure out how to entice people to insulate their homes to save electric heat and replace old, energy-sucking refrigerators and other appliances with newer, more efficient models.
Electricity usage in the Pennsylvania and the United States grows at a rate of about 1 percent to 2 percent annually.
By May 31, 2013, utilities have to cut usage by at least 3 percent, as well as slash 4.5 percent from electricity usage during the 100 highest-use hours of the year.
Utilities said they are still in the early stages of developing proposals for how they will approach the mandate and did not want to speak about their specific plans.
They acknowledge that the law will force them to adopt new usage-reduction tactics beyond a raft of education programs they have, including Web sites that dissect each residential customer's electric usage and how to reduce it.
"It's a big number. It's going to take some changes in terms of what we do and what we've done in the past, but it's not an insurmountable number," said Scott Surgeoner, a spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp., the Ohio-based power company that owns Pennsylvania Electric Co., Pennsylvania Power Co. and Metropolitan Edison Co.
By July 1, each utility must file a plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to achieve the cuts. The commission must hold a public hearing on each plan and has about four months to approve or reject them.
The electricity conservation efforts will be expensive, and utilities can bill rate payers for that cost, up to 2 percent of their revenue from 2006. Utilities must be able to show that savings from the plans will pay their own cost - at least - within 15 years.
Legislation that Gov. Ed Rendell signed Wednesday requires the utilities to cut annual electricity usage by at least 1 percent by May 31, 2011, based on usage estimates made by state regulators, who can take into account a major anomaly, such as an unusually hot summer or a substantial surge in demand from a new user, such as a factory.
To ensure that utilities take the task seriously, the new law allows up to $20 million in penalties for failure to meet the benchmarks for electricity usage cuts.
"That certainly should get the companies to look at what's been going on around the country and adopt some of the more successful programs," said Sonny Popowsky, the state's utility consumer advocate and a supporter of the new law.
Utilities will have to find ways to get people and businesses to use less electricity on the hottest summer days, when electricity is the most expensive. That could include enrolling the owners of homes and office buildings in a program to temporarily switch off hot water heaters or air conditioners.
To cut electricity usage at all other times, utilities will have to get more fluorescent lamps into light sockets to replace less efficient incandescent bulbs.
They will have to figure out how to entice people to insulate their homes to save electric heat and replace old, energy-sucking refrigerators and other appliances with newer, more efficient models.
Electricity usage in the Pennsylvania and the United States grows at a rate of about 1 percent to 2 percent annually.
By May 31, 2013, utilities have to cut usage by at least 3 percent, as well as slash 4.5 percent from electricity usage during the 100 highest-use hours of the year.
Utilities said they are still in the early stages of developing proposals for how they will approach the mandate and did not want to speak about their specific plans.
They acknowledge that the law will force them to adopt new usage-reduction tactics beyond a raft of education programs they have, including Web sites that dissect each residential customer's electric usage and how to reduce it.
"It's a big number. It's going to take some changes in terms of what we do and what we've done in the past, but it's not an insurmountable number," said Scott Surgeoner, a spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp., the Ohio-based power company that owns Pennsylvania Electric Co., Pennsylvania Power Co. and Metropolitan Edison Co.
By July 1, each utility must file a plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to achieve the cuts. The commission must hold a public hearing on each plan and has about four months to approve or reject them.
The electricity conservation efforts will be expensive, and utilities can bill rate payers for that cost, up to 2 percent of their revenue from 2006. Utilities must be able to show that savings from the plans will pay their own cost - at least - within 15 years.
Pennsylvania's No. 2 official treated for cancer
Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor is undergoing intensive treatment for cancer.
Gov. Ed Rendell said Thursday that Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll has been at a cancer center in Baltimore for about two weeks.
The governor calls it a serious health challenge but says there is no prognosis. He says Knoll "hasn't given up."
The 78-year-old Knoll announced in August that she had been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for neuroendocrine (noo-roh-END'-oh-krin) cancer.
The Democrat's term ends in 2011. Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati will replace her if she can't complete the term.
Gov. Ed Rendell said Thursday that Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll has been at a cancer center in Baltimore for about two weeks.
The governor calls it a serious health challenge but says there is no prognosis. He says Knoll "hasn't given up."
The 78-year-old Knoll announced in August that she had been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for neuroendocrine (noo-roh-END'-oh-krin) cancer.
The Democrat's term ends in 2011. Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati will replace her if she can't complete the term.
Secret Service: NO ONE SAID "KILL HIM!" About Obama
If you saw the final debate you may have heard Sen. Obama claim that at a McCain rally some one shouted "Kill Him" when Obama's name was mentioned.
So did some crazy person that scream KILL HIM when Sarah Palin brought up Obama at a recent rally? That would qualify any person who said that as a sick individual. That person is someone who should be banned from public rallys. Obama has every right to be outraged except for that fact THAT PERSON DOESN'T EXIST!!!.
The secret service says NO ONE Screamed Kill Him at that Palin rally (they listen for that kind of stuff for a living).
The story is as true as Mickey Mouse as a voter. your Sorry Senator, nice try, no one wants to kill you, they just want you in the White House.
So did some crazy person that scream KILL HIM when Sarah Palin brought up Obama at a recent rally? That would qualify any person who said that as a sick individual. That person is someone who should be banned from public rallys. Obama has every right to be outraged except for that fact THAT PERSON DOESN'T EXIST!!!.
The secret service says NO ONE Screamed Kill Him at that Palin rally (they listen for that kind of stuff for a living).
The story is as true as Mickey Mouse as a voter. your Sorry Senator, nice try, no one wants to kill you, they just want you in the White House.
Nurse Who Exposed Infanticide-Based Abortions: Obama Lied During Debate
From the Story: The Chicago-area nurse who exposed the practice of life-birth abortions that led to he bill Barack Obama repeatedly opposed in the Illinois legislature says Obama lied about his record during the final presidential debate. Jill Stanek says Obama again misrepresented his position and record before the American people.
Stanek said the bill, the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, “simply stated all born alive babies became legally protected persons immediately upon birth, no matter what gestational age and no matter if unwanted abortion survivors.”
“Obama voted against this straightforward human rights legislation four times stating as the sole state senator speaking against it on the Senate floor in 2001 it would be ‘unconstitutional’ to declare very premature abortion survivors persons,” Stanek explained.
Obama also defended his votes against the anti-infanticide bill by claiming "there was already a law on the books in Illinois that required providing lifesaving treatment.”
Stanek also called that a “lie” saying “Illinois abortion law to this day only protects abortion survivors their abortionist deems fit to live. Read more...
Stanek said the bill, the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, “simply stated all born alive babies became legally protected persons immediately upon birth, no matter what gestational age and no matter if unwanted abortion survivors.”
“Obama voted against this straightforward human rights legislation four times stating as the sole state senator speaking against it on the Senate floor in 2001 it would be ‘unconstitutional’ to declare very premature abortion survivors persons,” Stanek explained.
Obama also defended his votes against the anti-infanticide bill by claiming "there was already a law on the books in Illinois that required providing lifesaving treatment.”
Stanek also called that a “lie” saying “Illinois abortion law to this day only protects abortion survivors their abortionist deems fit to live. Read more...
Obama Ineligible to Run For President?
Barack Obama has teams of attorneys fighting a court order. That order requires him to produce a birth certificate establishing that he is a natural-born U.S. citizen, and eligible to serve as President of the United States.
So far he has not done so. That seems to indicate to some that he does not have a U.S. birth certificate.
One would think this would be at the top on the list of questions to be answered before a person spent time and a huge amount of money running for office.
In "October Surprise", Molotov Mitchell interviews the plaintiff about the federal case against Barack Obama. This is big news, yet the mainstream media is not covering it at all.
I'm not willing to call Obama ineligible, but it would be nice if he would put the issue to rest with a response.
So far he has not done so. That seems to indicate to some that he does not have a U.S. birth certificate.
One would think this would be at the top on the list of questions to be answered before a person spent time and a huge amount of money running for office.
In "October Surprise", Molotov Mitchell interviews the plaintiff about the federal case against Barack Obama. This is big news, yet the mainstream media is not covering it at all.
I'm not willing to call Obama ineligible, but it would be nice if he would put the issue to rest with a response.
Sarah Palin Slams Obama's "Radical" Abortion Record in Johnstown Speech
This past Saturday in a speech at a campaign stop in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Sarah Palin slammed Barack Obama for what she called his "radical" record on abortion and contrasted it with her own and John McCain's views on the issue (To see a video of the beginning of the speech, see here.
Palin's Johnstown speech came just six and a half months after the Democratic presidential nominee infamously told a crowd in the same city that he supported unlimited access to abortion because he didn't want his daughters to be "punished" with a baby, if they should experience an unwanted pregnancy.
"[Obama] said that a woman shouldn't have to be - quote - 'punished with a baby,'" Palin told booing supporters. "He said that right here in Johnstown - 'punished with a baby' - and it's about time we called him on it."
Palin said that, in contrast to Obama, she and McCain, "believe in the goodness and potential of every innocent life."
"I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves," she said. "And who is more vulnerable, or more innocent, than a child?"
The Alaskan governor told the crowds that when she found out that she was pregnant with a Down syndrome child - her son Trig - she was "scared."
"I had to prepare my heart for the challenges to come. At first I was scared, and Todd and I had to ask for strength and understanding." Nevertheless, she said, the experience of having a handicapped child has taught her that "every innocent life matters."
"Every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance. There are the world's standards of perfection … and then there are God's, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake."
Palin continued, highlighting Obama's support for partial-birth abortion - a procedure that Palin quoted Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan as labeling "too close to infanticide" - and his opposition to the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act (BAIPA). Obama's record on BAIPA has opened him up to criticisms from pro-life advocates that he supports "infanticide."
BAIPA was a piece of legislation that mandated that infants born alive after failed abortions should be provided with medical treatment. While in the Illinois Senate, Obama repeatedly opposed the measure.
"As a state senator, Barack Obama wouldn't even stand up for the rights of infants born alive during an abortion," charged the Republic VP nominee. "These infants - often babies with special needs - are simply left to die."
Obama's voting record on BAIPA has dogged the Democratic candidate throughout his campaign for the presidency. In the past Obama has repeatedly responded to criticism by claiming that he would have voted for the bill if a clause that appeared in a federal version of the bill, making clear that the bill would have no effect on Roe v. Wade, was included. However, it was subsequently revealed that Obama voted against a version of the bill that did include the clause - a fact that Obama has since acknowledged is true.
"Asked about this vote, Senator Obama assured a reporter that he'd have voted 'yes' on that bill if it had contained language similar to the federal version of the Born Alive Act," Palin told Johnstown supporters. "There's just one little problem with that story: the language of both the state and federal bills was identical."
Given Obama's support for the most extreme pro-abortion measures, Palin accused the senator of having long ago "left behind even the middle ground on the issue of life."
"He has sided with those who won't even protect a child born alive. And this exposes the emptiness of his promises to move beyond the 'old politics.'"
She concluded, "A vote for Barack Obama would give the ultimate power over the issue of life to a politician who has never once done anything to protect the unborn. As Senator Obama told Pastor Rick Warren, it's above his pay grade."
First Graders Taken on Field Trip to San Francisco City Hall For Homosexual "Wedding"
Eighteen first graders traveled to San Francisco City Hall last Friday for the "wedding" of their teacher and her lesbian partner, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Full Story
I'd like to see the permission slip for that one!
I'd like to see the permission slip for that one!
As Campaign’s Intensity Peaks, Interest in Big 3's Evening News Continues to Wane
From the story: Three weeks out from Election Day, surely more Americans are tuning into the Big 3 networks' evening newscasts, right?
Wrong.
In the past two weeks, Big 3 evening newscast viewership has actually declined by 360,000, or 1.6%. What's more, in percentage terms, viewership among "The Demo" of ages 25-54 has declined even further (220,000, down 3.1%). Read more...
I not holding my breath waiting for Bob Schieffer to ask questions regarding ther candidates' voting record on abortion, gay marriage, ACORN, gun rights, or Freddy Mac / Fanny Mae contributions to congress members in tonight’s debate.
Wrong.
In the past two weeks, Big 3 evening newscast viewership has actually declined by 360,000, or 1.6%. What's more, in percentage terms, viewership among "The Demo" of ages 25-54 has declined even further (220,000, down 3.1%). Read more...
I not holding my breath waiting for Bob Schieffer to ask questions regarding ther candidates' voting record on abortion, gay marriage, ACORN, gun rights, or Freddy Mac / Fanny Mae contributions to congress members in tonight’s debate.
McCain keeping hopes high for Pa.
Bruce Castor was making small talk with a few Fraternal Order of Police officials yesterday as they waited for reporters to arrive for a McCain campaign news conference. By the scheduled hour, one television cameraman had shown up; no local reporters. Read More
DeWeese hopes to hurdle controversy
In all his adult life, Bill DeWeese has had just one job -- representing the overwhelmingly rural communities of Fayette, Greene and Washington counties in the state House of Representatives. And on a recent gray and windswept day so cold it made eyes water, the Democrat was running like hell to keep it. Read More
Atheist soldier to leave Army, drops religion suit
An atheist soldier who accused U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Defense Department of violating his religious freedom dropped the lawsuit Friday, citing his plans to leave the Army next spring.
But the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which filed the suit in 2007 with Pfc. Jeremy Hall, still plans to pursue allegations of widespread religious discrimination within the military in a separate lawsuit it filed with a second atheist soldier.
Attorneys for Hall filed papers Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to dismiss the case, said Mikey Weinstein, head of the foundation.
Hall and the foundation sued over Hall's claims that a major prevented him from holding an atheist meeting while deployed in Iraq. That officer denied the allegation.
Dropping the lawsuit avoids a fight over whether Hall has standing to sue if he is no longer in the Army, which he plans to leave in 2009, Weinstein said.
But the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which filed the suit in 2007 with Pfc. Jeremy Hall, still plans to pursue allegations of widespread religious discrimination within the military in a separate lawsuit it filed with a second atheist soldier.
Attorneys for Hall filed papers Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to dismiss the case, said Mikey Weinstein, head of the foundation.
Hall and the foundation sued over Hall's claims that a major prevented him from holding an atheist meeting while deployed in Iraq. That officer denied the allegation.
Dropping the lawsuit avoids a fight over whether Hall has standing to sue if he is no longer in the Army, which he plans to leave in 2009, Weinstein said.
Billy Graham released from NC hospital after fall
Evangelist Billy Graham was released from the hospital Saturday, sore and bruised but not seriously injured, after he tripped and fell over one of his dogs at his North Carolina home, hospital officials said.
The 89-year-old Graham stayed overnight at Mission Hospital in Asheville with discomfort and bruising. X-rays showed no broken bones, spokeswoman Merrell Gregory said in a news release.
The 89-year-old Graham stayed overnight at Mission Hospital in Asheville with discomfort and bruising. X-rays showed no broken bones, spokeswoman Merrell Gregory said in a news release.
Six Questions For Bob Schieffer
The Family Research Council is collecting signatures asking Bob Schieffer of CBS News to PLEASE ask some pertinent questions on the upcoming presidential debate. Despite two presidential debates thus far, these important questions on marriage and abortion have not been asked:
1. Do you believe that the U.S. Constitution contains a right for homosexuals to marry?
2. Would you change the traditional definition of marriage contained in the federal Defense of Marriage Act?
3. Do you support the Defense of Marriage Act's provision allowing states not to recognize same-sex marriages from other states?
4. Have you ever opposed any ballot initiative seeking to define marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman?
5. Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court's decision allowing the government to ban abortions that kill a partially born baby?
6. Have you ever supported or opposed any law designed to protect the lives of babies that have survived an attempted abortion?
To sign the FRC petition, click here.
1. Do you believe that the U.S. Constitution contains a right for homosexuals to marry?
2. Would you change the traditional definition of marriage contained in the federal Defense of Marriage Act?
3. Do you support the Defense of Marriage Act's provision allowing states not to recognize same-sex marriages from other states?
4. Have you ever opposed any ballot initiative seeking to define marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman?
5. Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court's decision allowing the government to ban abortions that kill a partially born baby?
6. Have you ever supported or opposed any law designed to protect the lives of babies that have survived an attempted abortion?
To sign the FRC petition, click here.
Ending the Tax Referendum Legal Dispute
Who has the power to set tax rates in a home rule community? A definitive answer to that question will go a long way in determining who retains ultimate sovereignty in communities that have adopted home rule charters: the governing body or the people. Continue
Ex-aide in Pa. bonus scandal cites Dem. leader
The former chief of staff for a state legislative leader testified Wednesday that his boss knew bonuses were paid to reward employees for their help on political campaigns.
Michael Manzo made the accusation during a preliminary hearing for two people charged with using state workers and equipment for campaigns. It's the first time anyone has publicly accused House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese of knowing about the bonuses and why they were being given out.
Asked under cross-examination whether DeWeese knew bonuses were going out for campaign work, Manzo replied, "I believe he did, yes." Manzo said the use of bonuses as rewards for political work began in 2004 and resulted in a tenfold increase in volunteers for Democratic candidates.
"From a political standpoint, it was certainly successful," he said.
In a statement Wednesday, DeWeese, who has not been charged with wrongdoing, called Manzo "a desperate, disgruntled former employee whom I fired last year for dishonesty and self-dealing," adding that "his motives are suspect and his opinions are just not credible."
But Manzo's attorney, Jim Eisenhower, told reporters that "he (DeWeese) directed that certain bonuses be given."
Eisenhower said Manzo "has a reputation for honesty and credibility in Harrisburg, and we'll let the process take its course."
Some legislators have suggested DeWeese step down from his leadership post because the activity occurred on his watch.
Manzo, who worked for House Democrats from 1994 to 2007, is one of 12 people charged in the Capitol scandal, in which prosecutors allege widespread diversion of state government money, equipment and employees for electioneering.
Ten defendants have waived their right to a preliminary hearing, so the two-day hearing that concluded Wednesday dealt with Rep. Sean M. Ramaley, the sole sitting legislator to be charged, and Anna Marie Perretta-Rosepink, a former Beaver County legislative aide. Each has denied wrongdoing.
Dauphin County President Judge Richard Lewis on Wednesday afternoon concluded that there was enough evidence to warrant a trial for the two defendants.
All those charged are associated with the House Democratic caucus, although Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett has said both parties in the House and Senate are being investigated and he expects more arrests.
Michael Manzo made the accusation during a preliminary hearing for two people charged with using state workers and equipment for campaigns. It's the first time anyone has publicly accused House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese of knowing about the bonuses and why they were being given out.
Asked under cross-examination whether DeWeese knew bonuses were going out for campaign work, Manzo replied, "I believe he did, yes." Manzo said the use of bonuses as rewards for political work began in 2004 and resulted in a tenfold increase in volunteers for Democratic candidates.
"From a political standpoint, it was certainly successful," he said.
In a statement Wednesday, DeWeese, who has not been charged with wrongdoing, called Manzo "a desperate, disgruntled former employee whom I fired last year for dishonesty and self-dealing," adding that "his motives are suspect and his opinions are just not credible."
But Manzo's attorney, Jim Eisenhower, told reporters that "he (DeWeese) directed that certain bonuses be given."
Eisenhower said Manzo "has a reputation for honesty and credibility in Harrisburg, and we'll let the process take its course."
Some legislators have suggested DeWeese step down from his leadership post because the activity occurred on his watch.
Manzo, who worked for House Democrats from 1994 to 2007, is one of 12 people charged in the Capitol scandal, in which prosecutors allege widespread diversion of state government money, equipment and employees for electioneering.
Ten defendants have waived their right to a preliminary hearing, so the two-day hearing that concluded Wednesday dealt with Rep. Sean M. Ramaley, the sole sitting legislator to be charged, and Anna Marie Perretta-Rosepink, a former Beaver County legislative aide. Each has denied wrongdoing.
Dauphin County President Judge Richard Lewis on Wednesday afternoon concluded that there was enough evidence to warrant a trial for the two defendants.
All those charged are associated with the House Democratic caucus, although Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett has said both parties in the House and Senate are being investigated and he expects more arrests.
Bruce Dal Canton Dies
Bruce Dal Canton, a former high school teacher who turned a good showing at a tryout camp into a lengthy career as a major league pitcher and coach, died Tuesday. He was 66.
Dal Canton died of esophageal cancer. A Carnegie funeral home confirmed his death.
Born and raised near Pittsburgh, Dal Canton starred at California University of Pennsylvania. However, he didn't attract a lot of attention from big league scouts and went to work as a high school teacher and coach.
In the mid-1960s, Dal Canton went to a Pirates' tryout camp, hoping for one last chance at a baseball career. The Pirates signed him and he made his major league debut with them in 1967.
Dal Canton went 8-2 with Pittsburgh in 1969 and then 9-4 with the 1970 NL East champions. After that season, the Pirates traded him with Freddie Patek to Kansas City. He was 8-10 for the Royals in 1974 and pitched his only two career shutouts.
Dal Canton went 51-49 with a 3.67 ERA from 1967-77 with Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Atlanta and the Chicago White Sox.
He spent more than 25 years in the Atlanta system as a pitching coach, most recently at Class A Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League, where he coached until mid-May.
Dal Canton died of esophageal cancer. A Carnegie funeral home confirmed his death.
Born and raised near Pittsburgh, Dal Canton starred at California University of Pennsylvania. However, he didn't attract a lot of attention from big league scouts and went to work as a high school teacher and coach.
In the mid-1960s, Dal Canton went to a Pirates' tryout camp, hoping for one last chance at a baseball career. The Pirates signed him and he made his major league debut with them in 1967.
Dal Canton went 8-2 with Pittsburgh in 1969 and then 9-4 with the 1970 NL East champions. After that season, the Pirates traded him with Freddie Patek to Kansas City. He was 8-10 for the Royals in 1974 and pitched his only two career shutouts.
Dal Canton went 51-49 with a 3.67 ERA from 1967-77 with Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Atlanta and the Chicago White Sox.
He spent more than 25 years in the Atlanta system as a pitching coach, most recently at Class A Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League, where he coached until mid-May.
Ohio Man Bribed By ACORN
man at the center of a voter-registration scandal told The Post yesterday he was given cash and cigarettes by aggressive ACORN activists in exchange for registering an astonishing 72 times, in apparent violation of Ohio laws.
"Sometimes, they come up and bribe me with a cigarette, or they'll give me a dollar to sign up," said Freddie Johnson, 19, who filled out 72 separate voter-registration cards over an 18-month period at the behest of the left-leaning Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
"The ACORN people are everywhere, looking to sign people up. I tell them I am already registered. The girl said, 'You are?' I say, 'Yup,' and then they say, 'Can you just sign up again?' " he said.
Johnson used the same information on all of his registration cards, and officials say they usually catch and toss out duplicate registrations. But the practice sparks fear that some multiple registrants could provide different information and vote more than once by absentee ballot.
ACORN is under investigation in Ohio and at least eight other states - including Missouri, where the FBI said it's planning to look into potential voter fraud - for over-the-top efforts to get as many names as possible on the voter rolls regardless of whether a person is registered or eligible.
It's even under investigation in Bridgeport, Conn., for allegedly registering a 7-year-old girl to vote, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
I wonder if they gave the girl cigarettes to sign up?
"Sometimes, they come up and bribe me with a cigarette, or they'll give me a dollar to sign up," said Freddie Johnson, 19, who filled out 72 separate voter-registration cards over an 18-month period at the behest of the left-leaning Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
"The ACORN people are everywhere, looking to sign people up. I tell them I am already registered. The girl said, 'You are?' I say, 'Yup,' and then they say, 'Can you just sign up again?' " he said.
Johnson used the same information on all of his registration cards, and officials say they usually catch and toss out duplicate registrations. But the practice sparks fear that some multiple registrants could provide different information and vote more than once by absentee ballot.
ACORN is under investigation in Ohio and at least eight other states - including Missouri, where the FBI said it's planning to look into potential voter fraud - for over-the-top efforts to get as many names as possible on the voter rolls regardless of whether a person is registered or eligible.
It's even under investigation in Bridgeport, Conn., for allegedly registering a 7-year-old girl to vote, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
I wonder if they gave the girl cigarettes to sign up?
Farrakhan on Obama: 'The Messiah is absolutely speaking'
As far as political endorsements go, this one is dangerous....
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, another powerful Chicago-based political figure associated with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other long-time associates of Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama, is leaving no doubt about what he thinks of the leader in the campaign for the White House.
He says when Obama talks "the Messiah is absolutely speaking."
You can watch it for yourself on a newly posted YouTube video.
Obama tried to sway Iraqis on Bush deal
As more proof this guy is out for himself comes this story:
At the same time the Bush administration was negotiating a still elusive agreement to keep the U.S. military in Iraq, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried to convince Iraqi leaders in private conversations that the president shouldn't be allowed to enact the deal without congressional approval.
Mr. Obama's conversations with the Iraqi leaders, confirmed to The Washington Times by his campaign aides, began just two weeks after he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination in June and stirred controversy over the appropriateness of a White House candidate's contacts with foreign governments while the sitting president is conducting a war.
Some of the specifics of the conversations remain the subject of dispute. Iraqi leaders purported to The Times that Mr. Obama urged Baghdad to delay an agreement with Mr. Bush until next year when a new president will be in office - a charge the Democratic campaign denies.
Mr. Obama spoke June 16 to Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari when he was in Washington, according to both the Iraqi Embassy in Washington and the Obama campaign. Both said the conversation was at Mr. Zebari's request and took place on the phone because Mr. Obama was traveling.
However, the two sides differ over what Mr. Obama said.
Full Story
At the same time the Bush administration was negotiating a still elusive agreement to keep the U.S. military in Iraq, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried to convince Iraqi leaders in private conversations that the president shouldn't be allowed to enact the deal without congressional approval.
Mr. Obama's conversations with the Iraqi leaders, confirmed to The Washington Times by his campaign aides, began just two weeks after he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination in June and stirred controversy over the appropriateness of a White House candidate's contacts with foreign governments while the sitting president is conducting a war.
Some of the specifics of the conversations remain the subject of dispute. Iraqi leaders purported to The Times that Mr. Obama urged Baghdad to delay an agreement with Mr. Bush until next year when a new president will be in office - a charge the Democratic campaign denies.
Mr. Obama spoke June 16 to Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari when he was in Washington, according to both the Iraqi Embassy in Washington and the Obama campaign. Both said the conversation was at Mr. Zebari's request and took place on the phone because Mr. Obama was traveling.
However, the two sides differ over what Mr. Obama said.
Full Story
Special Commentary: What We Really Need is a Moral Bail Out
By Deacon Keith Fournier
As the world watches the indices of global stock markets plummet and succumbs to the dull fear which the collapse of much of the financial system has caused, we need to examine what truly brought us – and keeps us- here. We also need to ask, honestly and forthrightly, what, and who, can help lead us out of the wasteland.
I suggest that the financial collapse is simply the sordid fruit of the greed and the idolatry which has elevated the accumulation of stuff over persons to the level of something to actually be emulated - and dragged us all down with the indices. This practical materialism is a cancer,caused by a fundamental loss of basic values such as a respect for all human life, no matter how old or young, large or small. It has also given rise to a counterfeit set of purported “values” which place consumption over care and ultimately eat away at true and authentic human freedom, whether that freedom is expressed in a market economy which purports to promote it or other structures of social, cultural and political life which are also succumbing to its corrosive effects.
When a society fails to recognize that persons are more important than things, when it loses sight of the primacy of the inviolable dignity of every single human person at every age, every stage and of every size, it soon devolves into a form of practical materialism, worshipping a new golden calf. It uses the language of human rights but has lost its true moral content. When there is no recognition of a preeminent right to life, there will soon be an erosion of the entire structure of human rights. Human rights do not exist in a vacuum; they are goods of the human person. This is why I absolutely insist that to be “Pro-Life” is NOT to be a political Partisan or a “single issue” voter. Rather, it is to be truly human and to recognize that there is a hierarchy of rights. Without acknowledging the preeminent right to life, all derivative rights and the entire infrastructure of human rights is placed in jeopardy. The further legitimate questions and positions of political parties become moot. Without the freedom to be born, all of the talk about compassion for the poor and the promotion of freedom throughout the entirety of life, and how we attain it, is hollow and empty. Failing to recognize our first neighbors in the womb as having a right to be born and then to live a full life in our community is a foundational failure of our obligation in solidarity to one another and the entire ethic of being “our brothers (and sisters) keeper”. There can be no enduring lasting solidarity in a culture that kills its own children and then calls it a “right”. This is a moral crisis.
Mother Teresa, whom the Catholic Church now rightly calls “Blessed Teresa”, put it so clearly: “America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign."
What is really needed is a Moral Bail Out.
As the world watches the indices of global stock markets plummet and succumbs to the dull fear which the collapse of much of the financial system has caused, we need to examine what truly brought us – and keeps us- here. We also need to ask, honestly and forthrightly, what, and who, can help lead us out of the wasteland.
I suggest that the financial collapse is simply the sordid fruit of the greed and the idolatry which has elevated the accumulation of stuff over persons to the level of something to actually be emulated - and dragged us all down with the indices. This practical materialism is a cancer,caused by a fundamental loss of basic values such as a respect for all human life, no matter how old or young, large or small. It has also given rise to a counterfeit set of purported “values” which place consumption over care and ultimately eat away at true and authentic human freedom, whether that freedom is expressed in a market economy which purports to promote it or other structures of social, cultural and political life which are also succumbing to its corrosive effects.
When a society fails to recognize that persons are more important than things, when it loses sight of the primacy of the inviolable dignity of every single human person at every age, every stage and of every size, it soon devolves into a form of practical materialism, worshipping a new golden calf. It uses the language of human rights but has lost its true moral content. When there is no recognition of a preeminent right to life, there will soon be an erosion of the entire structure of human rights. Human rights do not exist in a vacuum; they are goods of the human person. This is why I absolutely insist that to be “Pro-Life” is NOT to be a political Partisan or a “single issue” voter. Rather, it is to be truly human and to recognize that there is a hierarchy of rights. Without acknowledging the preeminent right to life, all derivative rights and the entire infrastructure of human rights is placed in jeopardy. The further legitimate questions and positions of political parties become moot. Without the freedom to be born, all of the talk about compassion for the poor and the promotion of freedom throughout the entirety of life, and how we attain it, is hollow and empty. Failing to recognize our first neighbors in the womb as having a right to be born and then to live a full life in our community is a foundational failure of our obligation in solidarity to one another and the entire ethic of being “our brothers (and sisters) keeper”. There can be no enduring lasting solidarity in a culture that kills its own children and then calls it a “right”. This is a moral crisis.
Mother Teresa, whom the Catholic Church now rightly calls “Blessed Teresa”, put it so clearly: “America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign."
What is really needed is a Moral Bail Out.
De-Fund ACORN, Republican Leader Insists
From the story: “All federal funding to ACORN must be stopped,” House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Thursday, amid a widening probe into voter registration fraud by the liberal group.
Questionable or duplicate voter-registration forms submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, have turned up in as many as nine states, including so-called swing states.
The “nonpartisan” community-organizer group works to recruit low-income, Democrat-leaning voters. Its national Web site says the group has registered 1.3 million people nationwide for the Nov. 4 election.
“The latest allegations of voter registration fraud by ACORN are further evidence that this group cannot be trusted with another dollar of the taxpayers’ money,” Boehner said in a news release. Read more….
Funny how CNN can report on a raid on ACORN’s operation in Las Vegas regarding voter registration fraud, but not mention ACORN by name. The report simply referenced a “non-profit group” that was “disputing claims it committed voter registration fraud.” Yeah, right….
Questionable or duplicate voter-registration forms submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, have turned up in as many as nine states, including so-called swing states.
The “nonpartisan” community-organizer group works to recruit low-income, Democrat-leaning voters. Its national Web site says the group has registered 1.3 million people nationwide for the Nov. 4 election.
“The latest allegations of voter registration fraud by ACORN are further evidence that this group cannot be trusted with another dollar of the taxpayers’ money,” Boehner said in a news release. Read more….
Funny how CNN can report on a raid on ACORN’s operation in Las Vegas regarding voter registration fraud, but not mention ACORN by name. The report simply referenced a “non-profit group” that was “disputing claims it committed voter registration fraud.” Yeah, right….
HUD: Five Million Fraudulent Mortgages Held by Illegals
As most of us have lost many years’ worth of 401k contributions due to the efforts of those in congress to give mortgages to those who don’t qualify, now comes this:
From the story: Some five million fraudulent home mortgages are in the hands of illegal aliens, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
One illegal alien was arrested this year in Tucson after allegedly using a stolen social security number to buy two homes and rack up over $780,000 in bad debt.
It's not known how many of those have contributed to the subprime housing mortgage meltdown, but it has affected every state......
From the story: Some five million fraudulent home mortgages are in the hands of illegal aliens, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
One illegal alien was arrested this year in Tucson after allegedly using a stolen social security number to buy two homes and rack up over $780,000 in bad debt.
It's not known how many of those have contributed to the subprime housing mortgage meltdown, but it has affected every state......
Indiana: More Registered To Vote Than Eligible, Media Misses Story
ACORN is being investigated in about a half dozen states for false voter registrations, but the media misses the key points. NewsBusters explains:
One example of this massive vote fraud is in the amazing fact that there are now more registered voters in Indianapolis than are actually eligible to vote. News at 11? How about no news at all.
Oh, sure, there have been stories in the media in Indiana covering the vote fraud issue. But almost to a report they are covered as mere charge and counter charge and end up making the GOP look as if they are engaged in just the normal partisan bickering. But no one is reporting the true nature of this vote fraud. Read more…
One example of this massive vote fraud is in the amazing fact that there are now more registered voters in Indianapolis than are actually eligible to vote. News at 11? How about no news at all.
Oh, sure, there have been stories in the media in Indiana covering the vote fraud issue. But almost to a report they are covered as mere charge and counter charge and end up making the GOP look as if they are engaged in just the normal partisan bickering. But no one is reporting the true nature of this vote fraud. Read more…
More Self-Congratulatory Blather about Pennsylvania’s Job Picture
The Governor remains optimistic about Pennsylvania’s job situation. He compares employment changes in the Commonwealth to the nation as a whole and notes in the August Employment Report that ‘Pennsylvania’s economy has performed well.’ He blames employment losses the Commonwealth has incurred on the national economy and promises to throw more taxpayer money on economic development projects—a strategy he has employed since taking office in early 2003 which has had little, if any, effect on the state’s employment levels. The Governor’s position is that if the state’s jobs are growing it is because of his policies, if the jobs are slowing or shrinking, it is the fault of the national economy. A good PR ploy if you can get away with it. Continue
Bonesso files discrimination lawsuit against B94 radio
Local comedian Gab Bonesso filed a federal sex discrimination lawsuit yesterday against radio station B94, claiming that she was denied an on-air position because she wasn't "girlie" enough.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Bonesso, who was the sidekick-producer for John McIntire when the station used the talk format "The Zone" last year, was fired May 12.
She had worked for the station since March 2007. In October 2007, the all-talk WTZN, which targeted a male audience, changed its format back to B94, which plays hit music.
Bonesso filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May and was fired a week later.
Ms. Bonesso's last position for the CBS-owned station was as a board operator.
After the format change, she applied for an on-air position and initially was told that she would get the position, she said in the lawsuit. However, she learned later that wasn't the case.
"[The program director] told Bonesso he could tell she was not 'girlie' enough because of her hair and how she dressed," Ms. Bonesso said in the lawsuit. "[He] suggested that if Bonesso were to look and dress more 'feminine' she would be acceptable for the radio announcer position."
The program director also told her she wasn't girlie enough because she was "too cerebral" and "too hip," the lawsuit contends.
She claims sex discrimination and retaliation in the complaint. She is seeking to be placed in an on-air position and receive back pay and compensatory and punitive damages.
Michael Young, Pittsburgh market manager for CBS Radio, said he could not comment on pending legal matters.
It seems like formats change much more than discrimination habits as this charge pops up about every ten years.
Back in 1999 former WBZZ-FM (93.7) disc jockeys Ron Chavis and Troy Garrett filed a lawsuit in federal court against the station, charging that their dismissals were based on race just five weeks after new program director Keith Clark came on board.
In 1988, morning show newscaster Liz Randolph, sued the morning duo and the station. A Common Pleas Court jury found in 1990 that Randolph had been subjected to the infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and defamation. The station's company was also named in a second suit. Both suits were settled in 1991 for an undisclosed amount.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Bonesso, who was the sidekick-producer for John McIntire when the station used the talk format "The Zone" last year, was fired May 12.
She had worked for the station since March 2007. In October 2007, the all-talk WTZN, which targeted a male audience, changed its format back to B94, which plays hit music.
Bonesso filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May and was fired a week later.
Ms. Bonesso's last position for the CBS-owned station was as a board operator.
After the format change, she applied for an on-air position and initially was told that she would get the position, she said in the lawsuit. However, she learned later that wasn't the case.
"[The program director] told Bonesso he could tell she was not 'girlie' enough because of her hair and how she dressed," Ms. Bonesso said in the lawsuit. "[He] suggested that if Bonesso were to look and dress more 'feminine' she would be acceptable for the radio announcer position."
The program director also told her she wasn't girlie enough because she was "too cerebral" and "too hip," the lawsuit contends.
She claims sex discrimination and retaliation in the complaint. She is seeking to be placed in an on-air position and receive back pay and compensatory and punitive damages.
Michael Young, Pittsburgh market manager for CBS Radio, said he could not comment on pending legal matters.
It seems like formats change much more than discrimination habits as this charge pops up about every ten years.
Back in 1999 former WBZZ-FM (93.7) disc jockeys Ron Chavis and Troy Garrett filed a lawsuit in federal court against the station, charging that their dismissals were based on race just five weeks after new program director Keith Clark came on board.
In 1988, morning show newscaster Liz Randolph, sued the morning duo and the station. A Common Pleas Court jury found in 1990 that Randolph had been subjected to the infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and defamation. The station's company was also named in a second suit. Both suits were settled in 1991 for an undisclosed amount.
Right to Life: Obama's 'Abortion Reduction' Rhetoric a 'Scam'
The Obama campaign and its allies have adopted an extensive "messaging strategy" that seeks to persuade religiously committed Americans that Obama has a middle-of- the-road position on abortion policy and will promote "abortion reduction." Douglas Johnson, longtime legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and author of an article published today on National Review Online, titled "Unholy Messaging," calls the Obama effort "a brazen scam."
"The scam depends on the Obama campaign, with cooperation from the mainstream news media, deflecting attention away from Obama's actual record, and from his extensive commitments to pro-abortion interest groups," Johnson said. "Barack Obama is firmly committed to an agenda of sweeping pro-abortion policy changes that, if implemented, will surely greatly increase the number of abortions performed."
Johnson noted that a few short months ago, during his primary contest, Obama and his advocates were boasting about his record of leadership in opposition to legislation to ban partial-birth abortions, to protect infants born alive during abortions, and to require parental notification for minors seeking abortions, among other pro-life bills. "Those boasts were well-founded, and the current effort to re-package Obama as a moderate is a brazen scam," Johnson said.
The Obama "messaging" campaign includes a recently launched "Faith, Family & Values Tour" that will visit Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Florida, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In addition, various independent groups are disseminating advertising and literature that advances the same strategy.
Full Story
"The scam depends on the Obama campaign, with cooperation from the mainstream news media, deflecting attention away from Obama's actual record, and from his extensive commitments to pro-abortion interest groups," Johnson said. "Barack Obama is firmly committed to an agenda of sweeping pro-abortion policy changes that, if implemented, will surely greatly increase the number of abortions performed."
Johnson noted that a few short months ago, during his primary contest, Obama and his advocates were boasting about his record of leadership in opposition to legislation to ban partial-birth abortions, to protect infants born alive during abortions, and to require parental notification for minors seeking abortions, among other pro-life bills. "Those boasts were well-founded, and the current effort to re-package Obama as a moderate is a brazen scam," Johnson said.
The Obama "messaging" campaign includes a recently launched "Faith, Family & Values Tour" that will visit Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Florida, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In addition, various independent groups are disseminating advertising and literature that advances the same strategy.
Full Story
Post-Gazette Columnist: Sarah Palin Is A 'Schoolyard Bully'
This is the textbook example of the Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS). A Post Gazette columnist projects all of the derogatory character traits that he can muster at Sarah Palin, but based on what? A sample:
Those of us with vivid memories of middle school have seen Gov. Sarah Palin's type before. She was the girl who was always the first to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the last to stop instigating fights in the cafeteria.
She was the girl who always had just enough self-awareness to know when the boys were paying more attention to her than to other girls. Her specialty was flattering the alpha boys around her. Terrified of losing her exalted place, she quickly perfected the art of saying nothing of consequence. She rambled because the boys thought it was cute. If she ever had an original thought in her head, she was discreet enough to keep it to herself. She was the conformist who fancied herself a leader.
Wow, does she also stomp on baby chicks? I would suggest that someone else is the school yard bully here - someone who assigns character flaws based on his own imagination and middle school memories.
Those of us with vivid memories of middle school have seen Gov. Sarah Palin's type before. She was the girl who was always the first to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the last to stop instigating fights in the cafeteria.
She was the girl who always had just enough self-awareness to know when the boys were paying more attention to her than to other girls. Her specialty was flattering the alpha boys around her. Terrified of losing her exalted place, she quickly perfected the art of saying nothing of consequence. She rambled because the boys thought it was cute. If she ever had an original thought in her head, she was discreet enough to keep it to herself. She was the conformist who fancied herself a leader.
Wow, does she also stomp on baby chicks? I would suggest that someone else is the school yard bully here - someone who assigns character flaws based on his own imagination and middle school memories.
Pa. lawmakers warn of huge budget deficit
The deteriorating economy and rising cost of such big-ticket items as health care and prisons is leading the state government on a path to a massive deficit that will require a tax increase to erase, two senior state legislators said Monday. Read More
State might need tax increase
Those already worried about declining stocks and 401(k) plans might have another worry to add to the list: higher taxes. Pennsylvanians could see a major tax increase on the table when Gov. Ed Rendell and legislators work on next year's budget, according to two top lawmakers. Read More
2 await hearings in Bonusgate
Four more defendants in the state Bonusgate case today waived their rights to preliminary hearings.
Former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver, and three aides passed on their hearings in Dauphin County Court.
That left only two of the 12 defendants awaiting hearings in the government corruption case.
They are state Rep. Sean Ramaley, D-Economy, and Annamarie Peretta-Rosepink, 45, former director of Mr. Veon's Beaver County district office.
Kevin Harley, spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which is prosecuting the case, would not comment on whether there are any plea deals in the works.
Former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver, and three aides passed on their hearings in Dauphin County Court.
That left only two of the 12 defendants awaiting hearings in the government corruption case.
They are state Rep. Sean Ramaley, D-Economy, and Annamarie Peretta-Rosepink, 45, former director of Mr. Veon's Beaver County district office.
Kevin Harley, spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which is prosecuting the case, would not comment on whether there are any plea deals in the works.
Franciscan University Board Member Backs Obama
Franciscan University has emphatically disowned the views of Dr. Nicholas Cafardi, a prominent, avowedly pro-life Catholic legal scholar and Franciscan University of Steubenville trustee who recently justified supporting Obama saying, "We have lost the abortion battle." According to Cafardi, the next president of the United States would "not be able to affect abortion very much."
Cafardi, a law professor and the former dean of the Duquesne University Law School, is considered an expert on canon law, has spent thirteen years as the general counsel for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and three years on the board of the Canon Law Society of America. According to the InsideCatholic.com blog, Cafardi is the second high-profile Catholic jurist to endorse Obama - the first being Prof. Doug Kmiec, the former Dean and St. Thomas More Professor of The Catholic University of America's law school.
Last week, Dr. Cafardi published an editorial in the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) saying that although he is "staunchly anti-abortion," he supports pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. "I do not support him because he is pro-choice, but in spite of it. Is that a proper moral choice for a committed Catholic?" asked Cafardi rhetorically.
"I answer with a resounding yes."
The editorial argues that Cafardi's choice is justified because the "list of what the church calls 'intrinsically evil acts' does not begin and end with abortion," and Catholics have room to consider the candidates' respective policies on such issues as torture and racism.
Cafardi said he firmly believes that "we have lost the abortion battle permanently," and since electing Sen. McCain to office could not completely eradicate abortion, voting pro-life is a lost cause. Cafardi also stated that overturning Roe v. Wade would make no difference in the number of abortions that take place.
Further, Dr. Cafardi claimed that "there is a difference between being pro-choice and pro-abortion," and that Obama is simply the former. Obama "supports government action that would reduce the number of abortions," he said.
Cafardi does not mention Obama's avowed support of the "Freedom of Choice Act," which would eliminate all legal restrictions on abortion. Instead, Cafardi cites Obama's dedication to "avoid unwanted pregnancies" as proof that he is not pro-abortion. Obama's support for contraception, however, is also considered intrinsically evil by the Catholic Church.
"I have used my prudential judgment," wrote Cafardi, "And I conclude that it is a proper moral choice for this Catholic to support Barack Obama's candidacy."
Franciscan University of Steubenville's office of public relations released a statement soon after the publication of Cafardi's article, rejecting any affiliation with the personal views of Dr. Cafardi, who is a member of the University's Board of Trustees.
"Franciscan University stands with the Catholic Church in its opposition to abortion as an intrinsic evil and violation of the sanctity of human life. The University does not believe the abortion battle is lost, but that the tide is decidedly turning in favor of life," wrote the University.
"In keeping with the Church's guidelines, Franciscan University does not endorse any particular political party or candidate. It does, however, strongly encourage its students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other constituents to view the life issues - such as abortion, euthanasia, and the protection of marriage and the family - as foundational, and as issues that do not lend themselves to the prudential judgment of the voter."
Cafardi, a law professor and the former dean of the Duquesne University Law School, is considered an expert on canon law, has spent thirteen years as the general counsel for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and three years on the board of the Canon Law Society of America. According to the InsideCatholic.com blog, Cafardi is the second high-profile Catholic jurist to endorse Obama - the first being Prof. Doug Kmiec, the former Dean and St. Thomas More Professor of The Catholic University of America's law school.
Last week, Dr. Cafardi published an editorial in the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) saying that although he is "staunchly anti-abortion," he supports pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. "I do not support him because he is pro-choice, but in spite of it. Is that a proper moral choice for a committed Catholic?" asked Cafardi rhetorically.
"I answer with a resounding yes."
The editorial argues that Cafardi's choice is justified because the "list of what the church calls 'intrinsically evil acts' does not begin and end with abortion," and Catholics have room to consider the candidates' respective policies on such issues as torture and racism.
Cafardi said he firmly believes that "we have lost the abortion battle permanently," and since electing Sen. McCain to office could not completely eradicate abortion, voting pro-life is a lost cause. Cafardi also stated that overturning Roe v. Wade would make no difference in the number of abortions that take place.
Further, Dr. Cafardi claimed that "there is a difference between being pro-choice and pro-abortion," and that Obama is simply the former. Obama "supports government action that would reduce the number of abortions," he said.
Cafardi does not mention Obama's avowed support of the "Freedom of Choice Act," which would eliminate all legal restrictions on abortion. Instead, Cafardi cites Obama's dedication to "avoid unwanted pregnancies" as proof that he is not pro-abortion. Obama's support for contraception, however, is also considered intrinsically evil by the Catholic Church.
"I have used my prudential judgment," wrote Cafardi, "And I conclude that it is a proper moral choice for this Catholic to support Barack Obama's candidacy."
Franciscan University of Steubenville's office of public relations released a statement soon after the publication of Cafardi's article, rejecting any affiliation with the personal views of Dr. Cafardi, who is a member of the University's Board of Trustees.
"Franciscan University stands with the Catholic Church in its opposition to abortion as an intrinsic evil and violation of the sanctity of human life. The University does not believe the abortion battle is lost, but that the tide is decidedly turning in favor of life," wrote the University.
"In keeping with the Church's guidelines, Franciscan University does not endorse any particular political party or candidate. It does, however, strongly encourage its students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other constituents to view the life issues - such as abortion, euthanasia, and the protection of marriage and the family - as foundational, and as issues that do not lend themselves to the prudential judgment of the voter."
Video Catches Planned Parenthood Covering Up Statutory Rape
LifeSiteNews.com - Students for Life of America (SFLA) has released a video exposing two Planned Parenthood clinics in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina covering up statutory rape of young girls. To view the video, go here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/%3Ca%20href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkakpcWSyWY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkakpcWSyWY
In June of 2008, two college women volunteering for Students for Life of America entered two clinics in North Carolina posing as underage girls, 15 and 14, who just had unprotected sex with their mother's live-in boyfriend who was in his 30s. Each girl told the clinic workers that he suggested she come get the morning the Morning After Pill. According to N.C. Gen. Statue 7B-301 and 7B-101, this information was enough to trigger North Carolina statutory rape reporting laws, obligating any person who learned of this story to report the crime to authorities. In both visits, Planned Parenthood staffers acknowledged that what was happening to the girls was statutory rape and in one case even repeatedly admitted that they were required to report the incident. However, after the visits, Students for Life of America filed North Carolina Public Records Requests to find out if the Planned Parenthood locations had reported the crimes. SFLA has obtained and posted documents, which show that the crimes were not reported to authorities in either Charlotte or Winston-Salem.
To view the reports from police department authorities, go here: http://www.studentsforlife.org/index.php/plannedparenthoodin
In addition to covering up the statutory rape of these young girls by failing to report, both Planned Parenthoods were willing to help them get on birth control without their parents' knowledge, which would prolong the abuse while covering evidence. One staffer in Charlotte even said to the girl, "You can do it now," and set an appointment for the minor to obtain birth control the following week. Further, both clinics told the girls that anyone over the age of 18 could simply go to a drug store and buy the Morning After Pill for them, giving the girls' rapists a tool to further cover their crime of rape.
In June of 2008, two college women volunteering for Students for Life of America entered two clinics in North Carolina posing as underage girls, 15 and 14, who just had unprotected sex with their mother's live-in boyfriend who was in his 30s. Each girl told the clinic workers that he suggested she come get the morning the Morning After Pill. According to N.C. Gen. Statue 7B-301 and 7B-101, this information was enough to trigger North Carolina statutory rape reporting laws, obligating any person who learned of this story to report the crime to authorities. In both visits, Planned Parenthood staffers acknowledged that what was happening to the girls was statutory rape and in one case even repeatedly admitted that they were required to report the incident. However, after the visits, Students for Life of America filed North Carolina Public Records Requests to find out if the Planned Parenthood locations had reported the crimes. SFLA has obtained and posted documents, which show that the crimes were not reported to authorities in either Charlotte or Winston-Salem.
To view the reports from police department authorities, go here: http://www.studentsforlife.org/index.php/plannedparenthoodin
In addition to covering up the statutory rape of these young girls by failing to report, both Planned Parenthoods were willing to help them get on birth control without their parents' knowledge, which would prolong the abuse while covering evidence. One staffer in Charlotte even said to the girl, "You can do it now," and set an appointment for the minor to obtain birth control the following week. Further, both clinics told the girls that anyone over the age of 18 could simply go to a drug store and buy the Morning After Pill for them, giving the girls' rapists a tool to further cover their crime of rape.
Palin: Ayers Link Not “Racially Tinged”
From the story: Sarah Palin told reporters Sunday that “the Associated Press is wrong” for saying her recent remarks tying Barack Obama to William Ayers are “racially tinged.”
“The comments are about an association that has been known but hasn’t been talked about,” Palin said before boarding a plane to San Francisco. “I think it’s fair to talk about where Barack Obama kicked off his political career, in the guy’s living room.”
Palin said Saturday that Obama was “palling around with terrorists” because of his association with Ayers, a founder of the 1960s terrorist group Weather Underground.
The AP said Sunday that Palin’s recent comments were “unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subject that John McCain himself may come to regret.” The article said Palin’s charge about Obama’s relationship with Ayers “was exaggerated at best if not outright false.” Read more….
Interesting that the AP did not think that it was “racially tinged” or "outright false" when Hillary Clinton made the same charge against Obama regarding his relationship with Ayers back on April 16, 2008. Click here.
“The comments are about an association that has been known but hasn’t been talked about,” Palin said before boarding a plane to San Francisco. “I think it’s fair to talk about where Barack Obama kicked off his political career, in the guy’s living room.”
Palin said Saturday that Obama was “palling around with terrorists” because of his association with Ayers, a founder of the 1960s terrorist group Weather Underground.
The AP said Sunday that Palin’s recent comments were “unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subject that John McCain himself may come to regret.” The article said Palin’s charge about Obama’s relationship with Ayers “was exaggerated at best if not outright false.” Read more….
Interesting that the AP did not think that it was “racially tinged” or "outright false" when Hillary Clinton made the same charge against Obama regarding his relationship with Ayers back on April 16, 2008. Click here.
PC (USA) Pastor Who Wed Gay Couple Is Cleared
From the story: A church court of Pittsburgh Presbytery ruled 9-0 that the Rev. Janet Edwards did not violate scripture or the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) when she conducted what she has always said was the marriage of two women in 2005.
Since church and state define marriage as between a man and a woman, she cannot have done what she was accused of, the court ruled yesterday.
"It can't be an offense to the constitution to attempt to do the impossible," said the decision, read by the Rev. Stewart Pollock, chairman of the Permanent Judicial Commission of Pittsburgh Presbytery. Read more...
Does this mean that if I am talking to you and then I close my eyes, you cease to exist?
Since church and state define marriage as between a man and a woman, she cannot have done what she was accused of, the court ruled yesterday.
"It can't be an offense to the constitution to attempt to do the impossible," said the decision, read by the Rev. Stewart Pollock, chairman of the Permanent Judicial Commission of Pittsburgh Presbytery. Read more...
Does this mean that if I am talking to you and then I close my eyes, you cease to exist?
Pork-Laden Financial Bailout
The Senate passed a new version of the financial industry bailout legislation. The House could hold another vote on the proposal as early as Friday.
The passage of the bill is a positive, though there were way too many unrelated amendments included in the legislation. For example, it provides tax credits for biodeisel and extends depreciation rules for restaurant improvements. There is a reason why this bill is 451 pages long.
New Tax earmarks in Bailout bill-Film and Television Productions (Sec. 502)
Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503) - 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)Tax earmark “extenders” in the bailout bill. - Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)-American Samoa (Sec. 309)-Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)-Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)-Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)-Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)-Railroads (Sec. 316)-Auto Racing Tracks (317)-District of Columbia (Sec. 322)-Wool Research (Sec. 325)
So if an Indian got drunk on rum and drove around a NASCAR track , shooting arrows that are safe for children , then the Dow Jones Industrial Average would instantly go up 1,000 points?This is supposed to be an EMERGENCY bailout bill, to PREVENT A MELTDOWN!
The amendments were added to get additional votes. The question now is will the fiscal conservatives within the House balk now that the price tag of the bill has increased? News reports suggest voter anger following Monday's vote, so conventional wisdom suggests that the legislation will be passed, with probably an even higher price tag attached. All in all, there are $8-billion of appropriations in the Senate Bailout Bill that have nothing to do with preventing a banking meltdown.
Would I have preferred a "clean" bill without the extra amendments? Yes. But the Senate's bill does contain positives such as improved oversight, insurance for some debt and an increase in deposit insurance to $250,000 per bank account. The full text of the bill can be found on the Senate Banking Committee's web site.
Radio Waves
Newlin leaves, Jeniffer ArrivesWPXI-TV (11) vmorning anchor Newlin Archinal said her goodbyes on the air. Within hours of Newlin Archinal's departure from Channel 11, Corrie Harding announced that Jennifer Abney would take the duties sometime after October 20. Abney comes to the station from WKRG where she's been performing similar duties.
Lanny Frattare retires
After 33 years of announcing Pirate games, Lanny Frattare is giving up his spot on the air. 33 years is longer than any other announcer in the 122-year history of the Pirates - even longer than the famed Bob Prince. Greg Brown, Bob Walk, Steve Blass and John Wehner will return for the 2009 season.
After 33 years of announcing Pirate games, Lanny Frattare is giving up his spot on the air. 33 years is longer than any other announcer in the 122-year history of the Pirates - even longer than the famed Bob Prince. Greg Brown, Bob Walk, Steve Blass and John Wehner will return for the 2009 season.Delilah pens a book
Nationally syndicated radio host, Delilah, has just published a book containing some of her favorite stories from listeners over the years. The book is entitled, "Love Matters: Remarkable Love Stories That Touch the Heart and Nourish the Soul".
Madden to WXDX
Mark Madden wil land at WXDX (105.9). ESPN will release Madden from his contract at the end of the month to allow him to make the move. A source says ESPN could have kept Madden off the air for another year, but opted to release him in order to use the $12,000 monthly salary in other areas. October 6 is a likely start date during the 3-7 pm shift. That will pit him up against the "Paulsen, Logan and Crow" show which replaced the former Madden show on 1250.
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