Howard Kurtz, the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday asked several journalists why they felt the media was ignoring Barack Obama's latest flip-flop on public campaign financing. Here's a small excerpt from the program:
KURTZ ASKS CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT, LOLA OGUNNAIKE: "Lola, John Kerry four years ago was savaged for saying, "I was for the $87 billion before I was against the $87 billion," and that, of course, a question about war funding.
"As a viewer when you watch the coverage, does this make you think, well, Obama, he talks about the audacity of hope and he's just another politician [flip-flopping on the issues], or is that not your reaction?"
OGUNNAIKE: "No, not at all. In fact, I mean, I'm inclined to say that flip-flopping is so four years ago. It's just not what anybody is talking about anymore. It's so passé.
"I mean, people want to talk about Michelle Obama and her great toned arms and how does she get those pecks. I mean, no one wants to talk about flip-flopping. I'm sorry, Howard, but that's just the truth."
KURTZ: "But that sort of strikes at the heart of what we [the media] do. I mean, if a candidate says one thing trying to win the Democratic nomination, wins the nomination, and then throws that out the window.... and we don't blow the whistle, then what is our purpose here?
"I'm not buying the notion that flip-flops are out. Apparently, only certain flip-flops are out, maybe flip-flops by certain candidates.
"Now look, you know, Obama is entitled to do whatever he wants and make the case... But if George W. Bush had done this, blown off public financing, as he considered doing during the 2004 campaign, there would be howls in the media about one candidate trying to buy an election."
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Presidential Name Game
From the Daily Press, by Meghan Daum:
I've long believed that the deepest divide in American society is not the lines separating genders, races and classes but, rather, the gulf between people who have normal, easily pronounceable names and those who don't.
I'm not saying that having a name like Smith or Thompson or Hernandez is an express ticket to a carefree life... I'm just saying that having to spell out your name to every customer-service agent, doctor's office receptionist and restaurant reservation-taker you come into contact with can, depending on how many dinner reservations you make, add up to weeks or even months of your life you can never get back... - Read the rest
I've long believed that the deepest divide in American society is not the lines separating genders, races and classes but, rather, the gulf between people who have normal, easily pronounceable names and those who don't.
I'm not saying that having a name like Smith or Thompson or Hernandez is an express ticket to a carefree life... I'm just saying that having to spell out your name to every customer-service agent, doctor's office receptionist and restaurant reservation-taker you come into contact with can, depending on how many dinner reservations you make, add up to weeks or even months of your life you can never get back... - Read the rest
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
"Where's the Beef"?
From GOP.com:
FLASHBACK: Sen. Clinton Attacked Barack Obama's "Long Record Of Changing Positions":
Sen. Clinton: "When you say John Edwards isn't electable because he changed positions between 2004 and 2008, and then you have a long record of changing positions, you know, all of a sudden you start to ask yourself, wait a minute - I mean, what is the substance here. What is, as famously was said years ago, where's the beef? You know, where is the reality? And I think that's a fair question." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 1/7/08)
"That's Not What I Meant!":
Sen. Clinton Said Obama Runs Away From Statements And Positions: Sen. Clinton: "But I do think that your record and what you say does matter. And when it comes to a lot of the issues that are important in this race, it is sometimes difficult to understand what Senator Obama has said, because as soon as he is confronted on it, he says that's not what he meant." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Myrtle Beach, SC, 1/22/08)
FLASHBACK: Sen. Clinton Attacked Barack Obama's "Long Record Of Changing Positions":
Sen. Clinton: "When you say John Edwards isn't electable because he changed positions between 2004 and 2008, and then you have a long record of changing positions, you know, all of a sudden you start to ask yourself, wait a minute - I mean, what is the substance here. What is, as famously was said years ago, where's the beef? You know, where is the reality? And I think that's a fair question." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 1/7/08)
"That's Not What I Meant!":
Sen. Clinton Said Obama Runs Away From Statements And Positions: Sen. Clinton: "But I do think that your record and what you say does matter. And when it comes to a lot of the issues that are important in this race, it is sometimes difficult to understand what Senator Obama has said, because as soon as he is confronted on it, he says that's not what he meant." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Myrtle Beach, SC, 1/22/08)
Can we change? Oh, yes we can
Excerpted from the Financial Times:
Barack Obama has abandoned an early campaign pledge to use only public funding to finance his presidential run if his opponent made the same pledge. Although John McCain did make that commitment, Mr Obama has ditched his promise because he is raising so much more money than his rival. Some fear this marks the beginning of a raft of shifts.
In a subtle shift of emphasis, Barack Obama last night surprised supporters by declaring himself white for the duration of the presidential campaign.
Campaign strategists accepted that the shift did seem at variance with his earlier campaign position but said they had to accept the reality of politics today and argued he would be giving up a significant electoral advantage if he denied his Aryan roots....
One senior aide said that this was in fact a pioneering form of the “new politics” Mr Obama had championed because he was using the tired, outdated and cynical old politics to secure the victory that would then allow him to usher in the new politics. He denied that this move left him open to charges of being a phoney, because his was “a change we could believe in”.
Mr Obama’s move was welcomed by liberal commentators, who said it showed the Democrats had picked a winner this time. While they would have preferred him to have remained a black candidate, they said the change showed him to be a true idealist who would not let the old style of politics prevent him from bringing the change America needed.
There was more surprise at his decision to reclassify himself as a Republican. Mr Obama had initially campaigned as a Democrat, committed to big government, higher taxes and a woman’s right to choose.
However, campaign aides said his determination to run a 50-state strategy made the switch imperative. Polling had shown definitively that his numbers increased sharply if voters thought he was also a southern Republican as well.
Liberal commentators applauded the move, saying it showed the Democrats had picked a winner this time.
Others were shaken by his decision to join the National Rifle Association, given his earlier remarks about people clinging on to their guns because they were “bitter”. But aides said he wanted to send a signal that, as part of the new politics, he was reaching out to all citizens... Liberal commentators said it showed the Democrats had picked a winner this time and that the AK47 was not the preserve of Republicans.
Asked whether the senator could get away with constantly changing his position on issues, liberal commentators replied: “Yes, he can.”
Barack Obama has abandoned an early campaign pledge to use only public funding to finance his presidential run if his opponent made the same pledge. Although John McCain did make that commitment, Mr Obama has ditched his promise because he is raising so much more money than his rival. Some fear this marks the beginning of a raft of shifts.
In a subtle shift of emphasis, Barack Obama last night surprised supporters by declaring himself white for the duration of the presidential campaign.
Campaign strategists accepted that the shift did seem at variance with his earlier campaign position but said they had to accept the reality of politics today and argued he would be giving up a significant electoral advantage if he denied his Aryan roots....
One senior aide said that this was in fact a pioneering form of the “new politics” Mr Obama had championed because he was using the tired, outdated and cynical old politics to secure the victory that would then allow him to usher in the new politics. He denied that this move left him open to charges of being a phoney, because his was “a change we could believe in”.
Mr Obama’s move was welcomed by liberal commentators, who said it showed the Democrats had picked a winner this time. While they would have preferred him to have remained a black candidate, they said the change showed him to be a true idealist who would not let the old style of politics prevent him from bringing the change America needed.
There was more surprise at his decision to reclassify himself as a Republican. Mr Obama had initially campaigned as a Democrat, committed to big government, higher taxes and a woman’s right to choose.
However, campaign aides said his determination to run a 50-state strategy made the switch imperative. Polling had shown definitively that his numbers increased sharply if voters thought he was also a southern Republican as well.
Liberal commentators applauded the move, saying it showed the Democrats had picked a winner this time.
Others were shaken by his decision to join the National Rifle Association, given his earlier remarks about people clinging on to their guns because they were “bitter”. But aides said he wanted to send a signal that, as part of the new politics, he was reaching out to all citizens... Liberal commentators said it showed the Democrats had picked a winner this time and that the AK47 was not the preserve of Republicans.
Asked whether the senator could get away with constantly changing his position on issues, liberal commentators replied: “Yes, he can.”
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Obama: "My Wealthy Donors are Corrupting Me!"
Jim Geraghty says he's "been pretty hard on Barack Obama lately", and so he says "it's time to give Obama some credit where it's due".
"I think the donors who fueled Obama's rise in Illinois politics were a bunch of limousine liberal, out-of-touch elitists." he says, "and it turns out, Obama thinks that way, too."
From the Audacity of Hope, page 114:
"But", he adds, "what does that make Obama, who listens to them offer their opinion and concludes they have a hard time imaging "that there might be any social ill that could not be cured with a high SAT score"?
"With Obama," he concludes, "it seems a $2,000 donation will get you his ear, but not his respect."
Amen!
"I think the donors who fueled Obama's rise in Illinois politics were a bunch of limousine liberal, out-of-touch elitists." he says, "and it turns out, Obama thinks that way, too."
From the Audacity of Hope, page 114:
"Amen, senator!" Geraghty exclaims, "I think the donors Obama describes are a bunch of arrogant snobs."Increasingly, I found myself spending time with people of means - law firm partners and investment bankers etc. ... They were smart... liberal in their politics, expecting nothing more than a hearing of their opinions in exchange for checks. But they reflected.. the perspectives of their class; the top 1 percent or so... that can afford to write a $2,000 check to a political candidate.
They believed in the free market and an educational meritocracy; they found it hard to imagine that there might be any social ill that could not be cured with a high SAT score. They.. were not particularly sympathetic to those whose lives were upended by movements of global capital...
I know that as a consequence of my fund-raising I became more like the wealthy donors I met... I spent more and more of my time above the fray, outside the world of immediate hunger, disappointment... and frequent hardship of the other 99 percent of the population - that is, the people I'd entered public life to serve.
"But", he adds, "what does that make Obama, who listens to them offer their opinion and concludes they have a hard time imaging "that there might be any social ill that could not be cured with a high SAT score"?
"With Obama," he concludes, "it seems a $2,000 donation will get you his ear, but not his respect."
Amen!
Obama: "We Need to Stop Looking For the Next Messiah!"
In an interview in 2005, Barack Obama - who still hadn't announced his intention to run for President - was asked if Hillary Clinton was his party's most likely nominee and if she was the strongest candidate:
Obama replied, "You know, it’s so hard to say what the situation is going to be a year and a half from now... We seem to be continually looking for the next Messiah. I think that’s a bad habit."
H/T - Tim Blair - Daily Telegraph Blogs
Obama replied, "You know, it’s so hard to say what the situation is going to be a year and a half from now... We seem to be continually looking for the next Messiah. I think that’s a bad habit."
H/T - Tim Blair - Daily Telegraph Blogs
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Audacity of Dissemblance
Quotes from the World Wide Web:
"Obama, who emerged from the polluted waters of Chicago politics, has played his game with brilliant efficiency. Very few politicians are able to pull off not only appearing to be different than they are, but appearing to be the opposite of what they are. And even fewer have the gift of denouncing what they embody and getting away with it. Yet my sense is something fundamental is changing in how we view Obama..."
Peter Wehner, National Review Online
"When an aide once asked Huey Long how he was going to explain to a group of important constituents why the “Kingfish” had gone back on a campaign promise, Long said, simply, “F*** ’em. Tell ’em I lied".
"This probably wouldn’t work for Obama. But maybe his apologists — those people who still believe in change, hope, and a new kind of politics — could try out a variation on Huey’s classic. How about, “F*** ’em. Tell ’em I was being audacious".”
Geoffrey Long, National Review Online
"Obama, who emerged from the polluted waters of Chicago politics, has played his game with brilliant efficiency. Very few politicians are able to pull off not only appearing to be different than they are, but appearing to be the opposite of what they are. And even fewer have the gift of denouncing what they embody and getting away with it. Yet my sense is something fundamental is changing in how we view Obama..."
Peter Wehner, National Review Online
"When an aide once asked Huey Long how he was going to explain to a group of important constituents why the “Kingfish” had gone back on a campaign promise, Long said, simply, “F*** ’em. Tell ’em I lied".
"This probably wouldn’t work for Obama. But maybe his apologists — those people who still believe in change, hope, and a new kind of politics — could try out a variation on Huey’s classic. How about, “F*** ’em. Tell ’em I was being audacious".”
Geoffrey Long, National Review Online
Sunday, June 22, 2008
"Values Straight From the Kansas Heartland"?
Barack Obama opened his general-election ad campaign Thursday with a TV spot trumpeting "his love of country" and the values he learned "straight from the Kansas heartland."
Here's a sampling from the ad:
In his autobiography, "Dreams from my Father", Barack Obama gives us a glimpse into some of the values he picked up:
The preceding content was taken from a YouTube video. However, due to some irrelevant material that was in the video, I decided to omit the video and to post only the excerpts from the ad and from "Dreams From My Father".
Here's a sampling from the ad:
"I’m Barack Obama. America is a country of strong families and strong values. My life’s been blessed by both. I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. We didn’t have much money, but they taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland where they grew up. Accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses."What kind of values did he learn growing up in Kansas?
In his autobiography, "Dreams from my Father", Barack Obama gives us a glimpse into some of the values he picked up:
"I spent the last two years of high school in a daze, blocking away the questions that life seemed insistent on posing. I kept playing basketball, attended classes sparingly, drank beer heavily, and tried drugs enthusiastically."Values Straight From the Kansas Heartland"? Boy, those Kansas people sure have some kind of values!
"I discovered that it didn’t make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate’s sparkling new van, or in the dorm room with some brother you’d met down at the gym, or on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids who had dropped out of school, and now spent most of their time looking for an excuse to brawl.
"Nobody asked you whether your father was a fat cat executive who cheated on his wife, or some laid-off Joe who slapped you around whenever he bothered to come home.You might just be bored or alone.
"Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection. And if the high didn’t solve whatever it was that was getting you down, it could at least help you laugh at the world’s ongoing folly, and see through all the hypocrisy and bullsh_ _ and cheap moralisms.
"To avoid being mistaken for such a sellout, I chose my friends carefully.The more politically active black students.The foreign students.The Chicanos. The Marxist Professors and the structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.
"We smoked cigarettes and wore leather jackets. At night, in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism, Franz Fanon, Euro-centrism, and patriarchy. When we ground out our cigarettes in the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to shake, we were resisting bourgeois society's stifling constraints."
The preceding content was taken from a YouTube video. However, due to some irrelevant material that was in the video, I decided to omit the video and to post only the excerpts from the ad and from "Dreams From My Father".
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Obama Addresses 9/11 Government Complicity
In an essay written in November of 2007, Joseph C. Phillips praised former President Bill Clinton for confronting a couple of hecklers who [during a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton] accused the US government of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks.
Inside job?" Clinton replied, "How dare you!"
"It was perhaps his finest hour," writes Phillips.
Phillips, however, criticized the way the Democratic Presidential Candidates' responded to such accusations.
John Edwards', in reply to a question about the collapse of the third tower, told the questioner to leave his contact information so he could discuss the matter with him further.
When a 9/11 conspiracy theorist sent a correspondence to Barack Obama accusing the US government of being directly involved in the attacks, Obama responded via e mail as follows:
"Ironically," Phillips continues, ..."all three candidates were hailed for their courage when they called for the firing of a rusty old radio DJ for making a lame racial joke. Of course, they blatantly ignored talk show host Rosie O'Donnell (who had a much larger audience than Imus) while she claimed the government conspired to blow up the world trade center..."
"Bill Clinton should be applauded for spanking those conspiracy theorists on their backsides and sending them packing," writes Phillips.
But of course, as Kimberley Strassel notes in a recent column in the Wall Street Journal - entitled, "Farewell, New Democrats" - Bill Clinton and the party centrists are no longer in charge. "The intellectual soul of the Democratic Party is now firmly left."
And with the Democratic Party now "firmly left", 9/11 conspiracy theorists are no longer "sent packing". Instead, they're more than welcome to discuss their conspiracy theories with Barack Obama.
My, how the Democratic Party has changed!
Inside job?" Clinton replied, "How dare you!"
"It was perhaps his finest hour," writes Phillips.
Phillips, however, criticized the way the Democratic Presidential Candidates' responded to such accusations.
John Edwards', in reply to a question about the collapse of the third tower, told the questioner to leave his contact information so he could discuss the matter with him further.
When a 9/11 conspiracy theorist sent a correspondence to Barack Obama accusing the US government of being directly involved in the attacks, Obama responded via e mail as follows:
Thank you for contacting me regarding your belief that the U.S. government was complicit in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. I appreciate hearing your passionate views on this matter."Hey," Phillips remarks, "if that's not battling cynicism I don't know what is!"
While I do not believe the U.S. government was complicit in the attacks, I do think it should be held accountable for the unacceptable mistakes it made in the run-up to that terrible day. The blunders that occurred prior to the 2001 attacks were inexcusable and often outrageous. The series of clear warnings about the potential use of hijacked planes as weapons is just one example of why the "surprise" of 9/11 should have been anticipated.
In my view, proof of government complicity is not necessary when making the argument that the U.S. should accept some responsibility for what happened on 9/11.
"Ironically," Phillips continues, ..."all three candidates were hailed for their courage when they called for the firing of a rusty old radio DJ for making a lame racial joke. Of course, they blatantly ignored talk show host Rosie O'Donnell (who had a much larger audience than Imus) while she claimed the government conspired to blow up the world trade center..."
"Bill Clinton should be applauded for spanking those conspiracy theorists on their backsides and sending them packing," writes Phillips.
But of course, as Kimberley Strassel notes in a recent column in the Wall Street Journal - entitled, "Farewell, New Democrats" - Bill Clinton and the party centrists are no longer in charge. "The intellectual soul of the Democratic Party is now firmly left."
And with the Democratic Party now "firmly left", 9/11 conspiracy theorists are no longer "sent packing". Instead, they're more than welcome to discuss their conspiracy theories with Barack Obama.
My, how the Democratic Party has changed!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Barack Obama Flip-Flopping On NAFTA
From the Wall Street Journal, Best of the Web:
Fortune magazine reports that Barack Obama is publicly backing away from his stated opposition to Nafta, confirming the private assurances he reportedly offered Canadians that he didn't really mean it:Source - WSJ, Best of the WebIn an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine's upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn't want to unilaterally reopen negotiations on NAFTA.
"Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake," despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.
Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified?
"Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don't exempt myself," he answered."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Just words--just words!
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Just words!
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Just words!
"I have a dream." Just words!
"Only Barack Obama consistently opposed NAFTA!" Just words!
You Don't Have to be Too Smart to be a Fool!
For all those who have fallen under the Barack Obama spell and believe that negotiating with the enemy is the cure for all the World's ills, here's an interesting piece of news:
Israel offered on Wednesday to start direct peace talks with Lebanon, saying all issues would be negotiable, including a tiny, disputed piece of Israeli-held land on the countries’ border, namely, the Shebaa farms.But now, Hezbollah says it won't disarm even if Israel returns the Shebaa farms:
When Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, the United Nations Security Council stated that the withdrawal was complete even though Israel held onto the Shebba Farms, because the United Nations said that Shebaa was part of the Golan Heights - captured from Syria in the '67 war - and not part of Lebanon.
Hezbollah has used Israel’s hold over Shebaa as a reason for keeping its men under arms despite United Nations resolutions calling for the disarming of all Lebanese militias.
Hezbollah says that as long as Israel holds on to the Shebaa Farms, it needs its weapons because the national army is weak.
History always repeats itself. The tyrants will always remain tyrants, and the fools, who appease them, will always remain fools.The Shiite movement, Hezbollah said on Thursday that Lebanon would still need its armed presence even if Israel finally quit the disputed Shebaa Farms district in the south.
"Any Zionist retreat from the Shebaa Farms would be a big achievement for the 'resistance' for this would be the result of its role and its pressure," Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah was quoted as saying by the state-run National News Agency.
But any retreat "will not change the fact that Lebanon needs the resistance," he said.
Working For the University of Chicago Has its Advantages
From the Wall Street Journal's, Best of the Web:
Nevertheless, I would imagine the Obamas are paying, and have always payed full tuition for their daughters' education. It's simply inconceivable that Barack Obama would oppose school vouchers for Private education if he himself is getting a tuition break for his daughters' private education.
Nice try, anyway, Mr. Keyes.
During a 2004 debate between Alan Keyes and Barack Obama for the US senate, Mr. Keyes [who supports school vouchers] told Obama, "I do not see the day when every American family is going to be employed by the University of Chicago so they, too, can have a choice (to send their children to private schools). I think we had better get there a little sooner than that."Our item yesterday on Barack Obama's opposition to educational vouchers prompted an email from a reader at the University of Chicago, who tells us that Obama's daughters attend the Lab School, a private elementary school run by the university.
Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times noted in July that Obama had acknowledged this during a Democratic debate. What he [Obama] does not mention, curiously, is that his wife, Michelle, works at the U. of C. Many people affiliated with the U. of C. are eligible for tuition breaks.
Nevertheless, I would imagine the Obamas are paying, and have always payed full tuition for their daughters' education. It's simply inconceivable that Barack Obama would oppose school vouchers for Private education if he himself is getting a tuition break for his daughters' private education.
Nice try, anyway, Mr. Keyes.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Tells Obama: Setting A Timetable For Withdrawal From Iraq Would Endanger The Region
Excerpted from the Washington Post:
The situation in Iraq has changed dramatically, with violence down 75 percent from its peak and the Iraqi government and army in control of most of the country. But Mr. Obama has not altered his position: He still proposes withdrawing most U.S. troops according to a fixed timetable, set to the most rapid pace at which commanders have said American forces could be pulled out.
Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, finds Obama's proposal worrying. In a meeting with Post editors and reporters Tuesday, he said that after all the pain and sacrifices of the past five years, "we are just turning the corner in Iraq." A precipitous withdrawal, he said, "would create a huge vacuum and undo all the gains and achievements. And the others" -- enemies of the United States -- "would celebrate."
Mr. Zebari said he told Obama in a recent telephone conversation that "Iraq is not an island." In other words, an American withdrawal that destabilized the country would also roil the region around it and embolden U.S. adversaries such as al-Qaeda and Iran. "We have a deadly enemy," Mr. Zebari said. "When he sees that you commit yourself to a certain timetable, he will use this to increase pressure and attacks, to make it look as though he is forcing you out. We have many actors who would love to take advantage of that opportunity."
The foreign minister said "my message" to Mr. Obama "was very clear. . . . Really, we are making progress. I hope any actions you will take will not endanger this progress."
He said he was reassured by the candidate's response, which caused him to think that Mr. Obama might not differ all that much from Mr. McCain...
- Read full article at the Washington Post - H/T- Wall Street Journal, Best of the Web
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Born Alive Infants Cry Out to Obama: "We Don't Want To Die!"
MoveOn.Org recently posted a video on its website showing a young mother holding her infant son, "Alex". The woman looks into the camera and addresses Senator John McCain.
"Hi John McCain, this is Alex and he's my first child," she says. ..."John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq..., where you counting on Alex? Because, if you were, you can't have him."
"Hi John McCain, this is Alex and he's my first child," she says. ..."John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq..., where you counting on Alex? Because, if you were, you can't have him."
However, in light of the fact that Barack Obama has consistently voted against the "Born-Alive Infant Protection Act" - aimed at protecting living babies who've survived attempted abortions - it would behoove one of those surviving infants to post a video of its own.
"Hi Barack, Obama," the infant would say, while looking into the camera. "When you voted in favor of infanticide, were you counting on taking away my life too? Because, if you were, you can't have mine!"
Jill Stanek, a former registered nurse from Oak lawn, Illinois, had this to say about Obama's opposition to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act:
Excerpted from Citizen Link:
On Jan. 10, 2005, newly elected U.S. Sen. Barack Obama visited former colleagues and staffers at the Illinois state Capitol, where he had served seven years as state senator. I happened to be at the Capitol that day, too, and a friend and I took the opportunity to speak to Obama, who had not yet achieved rock-star status and was still approachable.
We were in Springfield to lobby for passage of the state Born Alive Infant Protection Act, legislation that would require hospitals to care for infants who survive an abortion. Obama spoke against the legislation in 2001 and 2002 and single-handily defeated it in committee in 2003.
My friend stood in Obama’s path and said, “Senator, we are going to pass Born Alive here in Illinois this year.”
Obama smiled smoothly and agreed, “I think you will,” adding, “I would have voted for the Born Alive Infant Protection Act in Illinois had it been worded the same as the federal bill. I think that’s the position the Democrats should take.”
There’s just one thing he forgot to mention: Obama had stopped his committee from adding the federal wording.
With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.
First encounter
An Illinois lawmaker offered the first draft of the state’s Born Alive Infant Protection Act in 2001 after I revealed publicly that Christ Hospital left babies who survived abortion — viable babies whose delivery was induced, and whom the abortionist intended to kill but somehow survived — in a utility room to die.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Patrick O’Malley of Oak Lawn defined “born alive” using language identical to that of federal legislation introduced in 2000 by Rep. Charles Canady, R-Fla., who in turn drafted wording developed by the World Health Organization in 1950 and adopted by the United Nations in 1955:
The term “born alive,” with respect to a member of the species homo sapiens, means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of that member, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.
I first encountered Barack Obama on March 27, 2001, when I testified before the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he was a member. My testimony included my description of holding a premature aborted baby until he died:
One night, a nursing co-worker was taking an aborted Down’s syndrome baby who was born alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not want to hold him, and she did not have time to hold him. I could not bear the thought of this suffering child dying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived. He was 21 to 22 weeks old, weighed about ½ pound, and was about 10 inches long. He was too weak to move very much, expending any energy he had trying to breathe.
Toward the end, he was so quiet that I couldn’t tell if he was still alive unless I held him up to the light to see if his heart was still beating through his chest wall. After he was pronounced dead, we folded his little arms across his chest, wrapped him in a tiny shroud, and carried him to the hospital morgue where all of our dead patients are taken...
...Obama opposed Born Alive in committee, but voted “present” — neither “yes” nor “no,” but merely “present” — on the state Senate floor, one of many “present” votes that Hillary Clinton has cited as evidence that Obama lacks leadership skills. Clinton voted for the federal Born Alive bill, putting her on record as more pro-life than Obama.
The legislation passed the Senate but did not survive in the House.
When Rep. O’Malley reintroduced Born Alive and its companion bills in 2002, they headed again to the same committee, where Obama rewrote history:
"Ms. Stanek, your initial testimony last year showed your dismay at the lack of regard for human life," Obama said. "I agreed with you last year, and we suggested that there be a "Comfort Room" or something of that nature be done. The hospital acknowledged that and changes were made and you are still unimpressed. It sounds to me like you are really not interested in how these fetuses are treated, but rather not providing absolutely any medical care or life to them."
Of course, Obama had not agreed with me the year before, and I was the one who had told him about the Comfort Room, which the hospital created in response to my testimony: "We now have this prettily wallpapered room. … There is even a nice wooden rocker in the room to rock live aborted babies to death."
The hospital made live birth abortions look nicer, but the end result was still dead babies.
“What we are doing here is to create one more burden on women, and I can’t support that,” Obama concluded, and voted “no” in committee again.
The bill went again to the Senate floor, where Obama was the sole speaker against it.
...Democrats won control of the state Senate in November 2002, and when Born Alive was reintroduced for the third time in 2003, it was directed to the Obama-chaired, infamously liberal Health and Human Services Committee, where he simply refused to call it for a vote.
By this time Obama was running for U.S. Senate. He won his primary in March 2004, and Republicans recruited former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes, who lived in Maryland, to oppose him. It was Obama’s position against Born Alive that persuaded Keyes to run, as he stated in his announcement speech:
"When I was first approached about this possibility… I have to say that my reaction was negative…. What finally caught my eye, however… what finally arrested my attention and forced me to consider whether I not only had the opportunity to oppose him, but the obligation… was when I learned that Obama.. in April 2002,.. cast a vote that would continue to allow live birth abortions in the state of Illinois … .
"We are talking about a situation in which, in the course of an abortion procedure, a child has been born alive — is out of the womb, breathing and living on its own — and he cast a vote against the idea that we should not stand by and let that child die!"
And from World Net Daily, on Obama's support of Partial-birth abortion:
In answering a question about abortion while campaigning in Iowa last year, the always deliberative Obama said: "I think the American people struggle with two principles: There's the principle that the fetus is not just an appendage, it's potential life. … They also believe that women should have some control over their bodies."
The fetus is "potential life"?
Shortly after the Supreme Court's decision last year upholding the constitutionality of the ban on partial-birth abortions, Obama spoke at a Planned Parenthood conference in Washington, D.C. Condemning the Court's decision, he said that it was part of "a concerted effort to steadily roll back" legal abortion.
Criticizing Justice Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion in the case, Obama said, "Justice Kennedy knows many things, but my understanding is that he does not know how to be a doctor."
Of course, Justice Kennedy's job is not to be doctor, but to be a judge. And in doing so, he included in his opinion testimony of a nurse who participated in a partial-birth abortion procedure:
"The baby's little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his little feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the scissors in the back of his head, and the baby's arms jerked out. … The doctor opened up the scissors, stuck a high powered suction tube into the opening, and sucked the baby's brains out. … Now the baby went completely limp. He threw the baby in a pan, along with the placenta, and the instruments he had just used."
Thus the end of what, for Sen. Obama, was "potential life."
Also see, "Nurse's Testimony shocks Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee" to read Jill Staneck's own experience with Born Alive Infant's who were left to die.
And lest you still believe Barack Obama's prevarications on why he voted against the Born Alive Protection Act - read Obama Blocked the 'Born Alive Infant Protection Act' for further clarification on the matter.
As to why Obama opposed the Born Alive Infant Act, Jill Stanek offers one plausible explanation:
I asked former state Sen. Patrick O'Malley why he thought Obama went so far. O'Malley introduced Born Alive and served with Obama on the Judiciary Committee both years the bill was argued there.
"I think he [Obama] was internally struggling with it," said O'Malley. "His dilemma was obvious. On one hand he holds himself out to be a constitutional scholar, and, of course, our Constitution makes clear that persons born are entitled to all the rights and privileges of full citizens. He consistently characterized the issue before us as being about abortion, but the legislation had nothing to do with Roe v. Wade. It focused on persons born alive. It was so easy to be on the right side of the angels here, but he wasn't."
...The federal version had passed the year before unanimously in the Senate and almost unanimously in the House. Even NARAL went neutral. Pro-aborts agreed to let it pass without a fight lest they appear extreme.
Except Obama. He decided to battle alone further left than any other senator – Boxer, Clinton, Kennedy, Kerry, et al. Risky. Odd.
I might have agreed with O'Malley that Obama fought his internal battle externally, realizing that to accept preterm live aborted babies as legal persons weakened his private justification of abortion.
But something in this scenario smelled. The first Mayor Daley once said, "There is nothing so wholesome as a fish," which was his way of defending Chicago politicians, who always smell fishy. Obama is one.
So with the new information out about Obama these days, I re-examined the evidence and found some interesting facts:
- Obama has been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago since 1988;
- TUCC is a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice;
- TUCC's pastor is Dr. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whom Obama calls a spiritual adviser and whom Obama thanked in his 2004 U.S. Senate victory speech, along with "fellow Trinitarians," before his wife;
- From 1986 to 1989, Wright served on the Board of Directors of Evangelical Health Systems;
- In 1995, EHS merged with another health system to create Advocate Health Care, controlled jointly by the United Church of Christ and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, both pro-abortion;
- One Advocate property is Christ Hospital, where in 1999 I discovered babies were being aborted alive;
- One prominent Advocate board member is the Rev. Dr. Ozzie Smith Jr., a former associate pastor at TUCC under Wright;
- Another Advocate board member, Melbalenia Evans, is TUCC's former executive minister;
- TUCC is the United States' largest UCC church. Ebony listed Wright as one of the 15 greatest black preachers. Advocate is the largest nonprofit health-care provider in Chicago. Talk about crossroads of power and money. Speaking of crossroads, TUCC is located five miles from Christ Hospital.
So, which explanation makes more sense, that the fire rose in Obama's belly to fight for what he nobly but foolishly thought was the sacred right to infanticide....?
Or that Advocate got to Obama through its UCC contacts?
Source - World Net Daily
Or as Jill Stanek sums up in similar fashion here:
Obama hadn't been coached [to oppose the Born Alive Protection Act] had he, perhaps by fellow Trinity United Church of Christ member Dr. Jane Fisler-Hoffman, who also happened to sit on the board of Christ Hospital's parent company, Advocate Health Care?
Or by Rev. Dr. Ozzie Smith Jr., another Advocate board member and former associate pastor at TUCC under Rev. Jeremiah Wright?
Or by Wright himself, who sat on the board of Christ Hospital's parent company from 1986-89?
Or by Christ Hospital CEO Carole Schneider, a UCC member?
Or by fellow state Rep. Renee Kosel, a Christ Hospital board member who opposed Born Alive on the House side?
Or by Rev. Dr. Ozzie Smith Jr., another Advocate board member and former associate pastor at TUCC under Rev. Jeremiah Wright?
Or by Wright himself, who sat on the board of Christ Hospital's parent company from 1986-89?
Or by Christ Hospital CEO Carole Schneider, a UCC member?
Or by fellow state Rep. Renee Kosel, a Christ Hospital board member who opposed Born Alive on the House side?
Source - World Net Daily - "Barack Obama and the Comfort Room"
Perhaps, Jill Stanek is on to something. But for someone who's been dubbed "The most Liberal Senator in 2007", I'm not really surprised that Obama is the only Senator out there who opposes a born infant's right to live.
Regarding Obama's fondness for the "Comfort Room" where "Born Alive" infants are left to die "comfortably", Stanek writes:
Obama may have thought it impressive to wrap the baby one was killing in a blanket surrounded by silk flowers rather than leave him naked on a steel sink sideboard....The future presidential candidate was attempting to repackage liberal extremism to look comforting. Obama was pleased with a neonatal Soylent Green killing room, taking American liberal extremism to a new place.A "new place" - and a horrifying one, indeed!
"Barack Obama! You Can't Have My Wallet!"
You've probably seen MoveOn.Org's Latest video:
But have you seen the video below?
Several months ago, Meredith Vieira, co-anchor of the "Today Show" asked Barack Obama the following:
"Senator McCain never said he wanted a 100 more years of war. He just felt American troops should be a long term presence the way they are in Japan and South Korea. So are you willing to admit that you have distorted his statements?"
Click on the video below to see Barack Obama's contentious exchange with Meredith Vieira:
But have you seen the video below?
Several months ago, Meredith Vieira, co-anchor of the "Today Show" asked Barack Obama the following:
"Senator McCain never said he wanted a 100 more years of war. He just felt American troops should be a long term presence the way they are in Japan and South Korea. So are you willing to admit that you have distorted his statements?"
Click on the video below to see Barack Obama's contentious exchange with Meredith Vieira:
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Gore Says Obama Will Protect the US Homeland from Lead-Tainted Toys and Poisoned Pet Food
Former vice president Al Gore attended a rally for Barack Obama on Monday and officially endorsed the Illinois Senator as the nominee and next President.
Gore told the crowd that Obama would make sure their children's toys and the food they feed their pets would remain poison free - an apparent swipe at President Bush for failing to protect the US homeland from lead-tainted toys and poisoned pet food imported from China.
"If you bought poisoned, lead-filled toys from China or adulterated medicine made in China, if you bought tainted pet food made in China, you know that elections matter," he said. "After the last eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned that elections matter."
Gore told the crowd that Obama would make sure their children's toys and the food they feed their pets would remain poison free - an apparent swipe at President Bush for failing to protect the US homeland from lead-tainted toys and poisoned pet food imported from China.
"If you bought poisoned, lead-filled toys from China or adulterated medicine made in China, if you bought tainted pet food made in China, you know that elections matter," he said. "After the last eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned that elections matter."
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thanks to Obama's Cohorts, Elian Gonzalez is Now a Self-Proclaimed Communist
Remember Elian Gonzalez? He was the little Six-year-old boy who arrived in the US from Cuba [in 2000] clinging to an inner-tube. Elian's mother and 10 other Cubans were killed when the boat carrying them to America capsized in the Florida Straits.
If you'll recall, U.S. Marshals seized Elián González from the Miami, Florida home of his relatives and he was eventually returned to the custody of his father in Cuba.
Well, now comes word that Elian has officially joined Cuba’s "Young Communist Union". And the Communist youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde , quoted the now-14 year old, Elián as saying that he would never let down former President Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl, who succeeded the Cuban leader in February.
In 2000 when Elian returned to Cuba, then-deputy attorney general Eric Holder, who is now a senior adviser to Barack Obama said: "I believe that reuniting Elian Gonzalez with his father.... is simply the right thing to do."
Greg Craig - another senior adviser to Obama - was the attorney who represented Elian's father.
To find out who Mr. Craig was really working for and who paid for his legal services - click here.
In any event, thanks to Mr. Craig and Mr. Holder, Elian is now an ardent member of the Young Communist Union. And Mrs. Gonzalez, who gave her life to bring Elian to America, can finally rest in peace knowing her son has pledged his loyalty to Fidel Castro and the Communist movement.
And I suppose the "Marxists/Socialists/Communists for Obama" people can now live happily ever after too.
If you'll recall, U.S. Marshals seized Elián González from the Miami, Florida home of his relatives and he was eventually returned to the custody of his father in Cuba.
Well, now comes word that Elian has officially joined Cuba’s "Young Communist Union". And the Communist youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde , quoted the now-14 year old, Elián as saying that he would never let down former President Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl, who succeeded the Cuban leader in February.
In 2000 when Elian returned to Cuba, then-deputy attorney general Eric Holder, who is now a senior adviser to Barack Obama said: "I believe that reuniting Elian Gonzalez with his father.... is simply the right thing to do."
Greg Craig - another senior adviser to Obama - was the attorney who represented Elian's father.
To find out who Mr. Craig was really working for and who paid for his legal services - click here.
In any event, thanks to Mr. Craig and Mr. Holder, Elian is now an ardent member of the Young Communist Union. And Mrs. Gonzalez, who gave her life to bring Elian to America, can finally rest in peace knowing her son has pledged his loyalty to Fidel Castro and the Communist movement.
And I suppose the "Marxists/Socialists/Communists for Obama" people can now live happily ever after too.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Is the Obama Campaign smearing Rush Limbaugh?
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
News item: Barack Obama campaign starts new Web site ["Fight the Smears"] to fight smears from political opponents...
The first smear mentioned:
"LIE: Rush Limbaugh says a tape exists of Michelle Obama using the word 'whitey' from the pulpit of Trinity United."
Well. No. This is what Limbaugh said:
"The rumor is -- and we don't like dealing with rumors here -- but the rumor is that Michelle Obama from the pulpit of this church used the term 'whitey.' Some are saying be very careful with this because she might have said 'why'd he,' why did he, the contraction 'why'd he' instead of 'whitey.' "
He added: "I can't find anybody who's seen it."
Limbaugh... was careful not to claim the tape exists.
More on this when someone gets around to creating www.clarifyfightthesmears.com
Anyone interested?
News item: Barack Obama campaign starts new Web site ["Fight the Smears"] to fight smears from political opponents...
The first smear mentioned:
"LIE: Rush Limbaugh says a tape exists of Michelle Obama using the word 'whitey' from the pulpit of Trinity United."
Well. No. This is what Limbaugh said:
"The rumor is -- and we don't like dealing with rumors here -- but the rumor is that Michelle Obama from the pulpit of this church used the term 'whitey.' Some are saying be very careful with this because she might have said 'why'd he,' why did he, the contraction 'why'd he' instead of 'whitey.' "
He added: "I can't find anybody who's seen it."
Limbaugh... was careful not to claim the tape exists.
More on this when someone gets around to creating www.clarifyfightthesmears.com
Anyone interested?
Warning to the Obama Campaign: Do Not Use Hotmail!
Attention Obama staffers:
You are being forewarned. If you do not wish to smear Barack Obama or yourselves, do not use Hotmail!
You are being forewarned. If you do not wish to smear Barack Obama or yourselves, do not use Hotmail!
Obama to Spend Father's Day With Former Rezko Associate
Birds of a feather can't help it, they always seem to flock together:
Barack Obama recently left Trinity United Church, in the wake of divisive comments by Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Father Michael Pfleger. So where will Obama attend services on Father's Day?
Obama will attend services near his Kenwood home at the nearby Apostolic Church.
Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, founder of the Woodlawn Preservation & Investment Corp stepped down as pastor of the congregation on June 1 and was succeeded by his son, Dr. Byron Brazier.
The Woodlawn Corp. was partners with [now-convicted felon] Tony Rezko in four low-income housing projects with hundreds of units. In at least one instance, in 1994, Obama represented Woodlawn on a troubled project it later shared with Rezko. The city of Chicago sued, alleging Woodlawn failed to provide tenants with heat in the winter, and Obama represented the landlord in court.
Rezko went on to become a major contributor to Obama's campaigns.
Apparently, Obama felt he could no longer attend Rev. Wright's church, so he decided to spend Father's Day with an old crony of his and a former Rezko associate, Arthur Brazier, at the Apostolic Church.
This should help him bring in a few more bucks into his campaign coffers.
Question: Will Obama make the Apostolic Church his new place of worship now that Mr. Brazier of the Woodland Corp. has stepped down as pastor and appointed his son in his stead?
I'd also like to know why so many of Obama's closest acquaintances are either retiring, going to jail or avoiding jail sentences as a result of legal technicalities - aka Bill Ayers. Hmmm.
Barack Obama recently left Trinity United Church, in the wake of divisive comments by Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Father Michael Pfleger. So where will Obama attend services on Father's Day?
Obama will attend services near his Kenwood home at the nearby Apostolic Church.
Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, founder of the Woodlawn Preservation & Investment Corp stepped down as pastor of the congregation on June 1 and was succeeded by his son, Dr. Byron Brazier.
The Woodlawn Corp. was partners with [now-convicted felon] Tony Rezko in four low-income housing projects with hundreds of units. In at least one instance, in 1994, Obama represented Woodlawn on a troubled project it later shared with Rezko. The city of Chicago sued, alleging Woodlawn failed to provide tenants with heat in the winter, and Obama represented the landlord in court.
Rezko went on to become a major contributor to Obama's campaigns.
Apparently, Obama felt he could no longer attend Rev. Wright's church, so he decided to spend Father's Day with an old crony of his and a former Rezko associate, Arthur Brazier, at the Apostolic Church.
This should help him bring in a few more bucks into his campaign coffers.
Question: Will Obama make the Apostolic Church his new place of worship now that Mr. Brazier of the Woodland Corp. has stepped down as pastor and appointed his son in his stead?
I'd also like to know why so many of Obama's closest acquaintances are either retiring, going to jail or avoiding jail sentences as a result of legal technicalities - aka Bill Ayers. Hmmm.
Obama Campaign Clinging to Guns?
That’s exactly what Barack Obama said he would do to counter Republican attacks:
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” Obama said at a Philadelphia fundraiser Friday night. “Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl..."
The comment drew some laughs and applause. But it also struck a chord with his Republican rival.
John McCain’s campaign immediately accused the Democratic candidate of playing the politics of fear.
“...Barack Obama’s call for ‘new politics’ is officially over. In just 24 hours, Barack Obama attacked one of America’s pioneering women CEOs, rejected a series of joint bipartisan town halls, and said that if there’s a political knife fight, he’d bring a gun,” McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement. - Read full article at the Wall Street Journal.
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” Obama said at a Philadelphia fundraiser Friday night. “Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl..."
The comment drew some laughs and applause. But it also struck a chord with his Republican rival.
John McCain’s campaign immediately accused the Democratic candidate of playing the politics of fear.
“...Barack Obama’s call for ‘new politics’ is officially over. In just 24 hours, Barack Obama attacked one of America’s pioneering women CEOs, rejected a series of joint bipartisan town halls, and said that if there’s a political knife fight, he’d bring a gun,” McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement. - Read full article at the Wall Street Journal.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Smear?
The Obama campaign has created a new website called "Fight the Smears" to combat what it calls "the false and divisive attacks of" its "opponents".
Among those alleged "smears" is the suggestion that Obama might have been a Muslim when he was a child .
Here's some of what we know about Obama's childhood years:
As a child in Indonesia, Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro. Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students, but exempt them from studying religion.
The school required that each student choose one of five state-sanctioned religions when registering – Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic or Protestant.
Obama communications director Robert Gibbs said he wasn't sure why the document had Obama listed as a Muslim.
The Chicago Tribune quotes Obama's former teacher, "Darmawan" as saying that at the time, the school most likely registered children based on the religion of their fathers.
Because Soetoro was a Muslim, Obama was listed as a Muslim, she said.The Tribune also notes that the enrollment form from the Catholic school, which has been cited as evidence that Obama was a Muslim in Indonesia, also was rife with errors. It listed Obama as an Indonesian, listed his previous school incorrectly and failed to list his mother, Ann, at all.
The Tribune seems to suggest that it was the school which chose to register Obama as a Muslim and not his parents
However, it would seem more plausible that Obama's step father registered Barack as a Muslim and an Indonesian citizen, since he himself was both Muslim and Indonesian. [I'll assume that Barack Obama never held any other citizenship other than his US citizenship.]
After attending the Assisi Primary School, Obama was enrolled – also as a Muslim – in the Besuki Primary School, a public school in Jakarta.
In Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," he acknowledges studying the Quran and describes the school as "a Muslim school."
"In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies," wrote Obama.
Speaking to the country's Kaltim Post, Tine Hahiyary, who was principal of Obama's school while he was enrolled there, said she recalls he studied the Quran in Arabic.
"At that time, I was not Barry's teacher but he is still in my memory" claimed Tine, who is 80 years old.
"I remember that he studied 'mengaji (recitation of the Quran)," Tine said
Mengaji, or the act of reading the Quran with its correct Arabic punctuation, is usually taught to more religious pupils and is not known as a secular study.
The Indonesian daily Banjarmasin Post caught up with Rony Amir, an Obama classmate and Muslim, who describe Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."
"We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong (waist fabric worn for religious or casual occasions) he looked funny," Amir said.
The Los Angeles Times, which sent a reporter to Jakarta, quoted Zulfin Adi, who identified himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends, stating the presidential candidate prayed in a mosque - something Obama's campaign claimed he never did.
"We prayed," Adi said, "but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played.
Obama's official campaign site has a page titled "Obama has never been a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The page states, "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim...."
But the campaign changed its tune when it issued a slightly different statement to the Times stating Obama "has never been a practicing Muslim."
An article last month by the Chicago Tribune seems to dispute Adi's statements to the L.A. Times. The Tribune catches up with Obama's declared childhood friend, who now describes himself as only knowing Obama for a few months in 1970 when his family moved to the neighborhood. Adi said he was unsure about his recollections of Obama. But the Tribune found Obama did attend mosque.
It quotes the presidential candidate's former neighbors and 3rd grade teacher recalling Obama "occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers."
In an interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”
The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent," the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.
Among those alleged "smears" is the suggestion that Obama might have been a Muslim when he was a child .
Here's some of what we know about Obama's childhood years:
As a child in Indonesia, Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro. Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students, but exempt them from studying religion.
The school required that each student choose one of five state-sanctioned religions when registering – Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic or Protestant.
Obama communications director Robert Gibbs said he wasn't sure why the document had Obama listed as a Muslim.
The Chicago Tribune quotes Obama's former teacher, "Darmawan" as saying that at the time, the school most likely registered children based on the religion of their fathers.
Because Soetoro was a Muslim, Obama was listed as a Muslim, she said.The Tribune also notes that the enrollment form from the Catholic school, which has been cited as evidence that Obama was a Muslim in Indonesia, also was rife with errors. It listed Obama as an Indonesian, listed his previous school incorrectly and failed to list his mother, Ann, at all.
The Tribune seems to suggest that it was the school which chose to register Obama as a Muslim and not his parents
However, it would seem more plausible that Obama's step father registered Barack as a Muslim and an Indonesian citizen, since he himself was both Muslim and Indonesian. [I'll assume that Barack Obama never held any other citizenship other than his US citizenship.]
After attending the Assisi Primary School, Obama was enrolled – also as a Muslim – in the Besuki Primary School, a public school in Jakarta.
In Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," he acknowledges studying the Quran and describes the school as "a Muslim school."
"In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies," wrote Obama.
Speaking to the country's Kaltim Post, Tine Hahiyary, who was principal of Obama's school while he was enrolled there, said she recalls he studied the Quran in Arabic.
"At that time, I was not Barry's teacher but he is still in my memory" claimed Tine, who is 80 years old.
"I remember that he studied 'mengaji (recitation of the Quran)," Tine said
Mengaji, or the act of reading the Quran with its correct Arabic punctuation, is usually taught to more religious pupils and is not known as a secular study.
The Indonesian daily Banjarmasin Post caught up with Rony Amir, an Obama classmate and Muslim, who describe Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."
"We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong (waist fabric worn for religious or casual occasions) he looked funny," Amir said.
The Los Angeles Times, which sent a reporter to Jakarta, quoted Zulfin Adi, who identified himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends, stating the presidential candidate prayed in a mosque - something Obama's campaign claimed he never did.
"We prayed," Adi said, "but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played.
Obama's official campaign site has a page titled "Obama has never been a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The page states, "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim...."
But the campaign changed its tune when it issued a slightly different statement to the Times stating Obama "has never been a practicing Muslim."
An article last month by the Chicago Tribune seems to dispute Adi's statements to the L.A. Times. The Tribune catches up with Obama's declared childhood friend, who now describes himself as only knowing Obama for a few months in 1970 when his family moved to the neighborhood. Adi said he was unsure about his recollections of Obama. But the Tribune found Obama did attend mosque.
It quotes the presidential candidate's former neighbors and 3rd grade teacher recalling Obama "occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers."
In an interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”
The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent," the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.
Source Worldnet Daily
The Los Angeles Times quotes the Obama campaign as saying: "Obama has never been a practicing Muslim." The statement added that as a child, Obama had spent time in the neighborhood's Islamic center.
Was Obama a Muslim at some point in his life? I don't know. And I'm not sure we'll ever know the answer to that. But based on the scant information that is availabe to us, it seems fair to speculate that Obama might have been a Muslim at some point in his life. And anyone who labels this as "Smearing" is in essence, the ultimate "Smearer" himself.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
"I Endorse Barack Obama for President"
Excerpted from Red State:
"I take an unusual step today. I realize that a number of my friends, family, and closest associates will no doubt disown me... but I have to endorse Barack Obama for President... He has done all I have asked, and now I should do at least one thing he asks and give him my support.
"When I beat up Obama for failing to repudiate Rev. Wright, Obama threw him under the bus.
"When I punched Obama for telling the Teamsters he'd let them out of federal supervision, he backed down on that through a statement "clarification."
"After I questioned Obama's patriotism because of his lack of a flag lapel pin, he put one on.
"After harassing Obama for saying Iran was no threat, he willingly changed his mind and decided Iran is, in fact, a serious threat....
"...When I bullied Obama over not going to Iraq with John McCain, his campaign decided he might just go.
"Heck, I even picked on him for his "unilateral meetings with rogue nations" and he graciously nuanced his way out of it.
"Then there's the other stuff like his fully transparent campaign. He harassed John McCain for being secretive..., I punched back, and Obama released just one page on his medical history so we couldn't see that he actually has health problems due to his continued smoking.... - Read in full.
"I take an unusual step today. I realize that a number of my friends, family, and closest associates will no doubt disown me... but I have to endorse Barack Obama for President... He has done all I have asked, and now I should do at least one thing he asks and give him my support.
"When I beat up Obama for failing to repudiate Rev. Wright, Obama threw him under the bus.
"When I punched Obama for telling the Teamsters he'd let them out of federal supervision, he backed down on that through a statement "clarification."
"After I questioned Obama's patriotism because of his lack of a flag lapel pin, he put one on.
"After harassing Obama for saying Iran was no threat, he willingly changed his mind and decided Iran is, in fact, a serious threat....
"...When I bullied Obama over not going to Iraq with John McCain, his campaign decided he might just go.
"Heck, I even picked on him for his "unilateral meetings with rogue nations" and he graciously nuanced his way out of it.
"Then there's the other stuff like his fully transparent campaign. He harassed John McCain for being secretive..., I punched back, and Obama released just one page on his medical history so we couldn't see that he actually has health problems due to his continued smoking.... - Read in full.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Obama is Pro-Life?
Just when you thought you've heard every possible spin under the sun about Barack Obama, along comes Frank Schaeffer, author of "CRAZY FOR GOD", and adds one more spin to the "Obama mythology":
"Obama is Pro-Life!"
That's right, Barack Obama - who is so enthusiastically pro-abortion, he even blocked the 'Born Alive Infant Protection Act', who recently said he wishes he could take back his vote authorizing Congress to save the life of Terri Schiavo - is pro-life. As a matter of fact, according to Schaeffer, Obama is even more pro-life than George W. Bush, in spite of Mr. Bush's pro-life record, his opposition to embryonic stem cell research and his efforts to save Terry Schiavo's life.
Excerpted from Frank Schaeffer's article in the Huffington Post - February 7 [H/T to Zoecarnate - who apparently agrees with Mr. Schaeffer's spin]:
Spin? No, it's just the latest installment in the "Obama mythology".
"Obama is Pro-Life!"
That's right, Barack Obama - who is so enthusiastically pro-abortion, he even blocked the 'Born Alive Infant Protection Act', who recently said he wishes he could take back his vote authorizing Congress to save the life of Terri Schiavo - is pro-life. As a matter of fact, according to Schaeffer, Obama is even more pro-life than George W. Bush, in spite of Mr. Bush's pro-life record, his opposition to embryonic stem cell research and his efforts to save Terry Schiavo's life.
Excerpted from Frank Schaeffer's article in the Huffington Post - February 7 [H/T to Zoecarnate - who apparently agrees with Mr. Schaeffer's spin]:
"I am an Obama supporter. I am also pro-life. In fact, without my family's involvement in the pro-life movement it would not exist as we know it. Evangelicals weren't politicized until after my late father and evangelical leader Francis Schaeffer, Dr. Koop (Reagan's soon-to-be Surgeon General) and I stirred them up over the issue of abortion in the mid-1970s. Our "Whatever Happened to the Human Race?" book, movie series and seminars brought the evangelicals into the pro-life movement.To make a long story short: The greedy, Earth-polluting tyrants in America, who support an infant's right to live, are not pro-life. Conversely, Barack Obama - who refused to protect the lives of infants who survived late-term abortions - is the ultimate pro-lifer.
"In 2000, we elected a president who claimed he believed God created the earth and who, as president, put car manufacturers and oil company's interests ahead of caring for that creation. We elected a pro-life Republican Congress that did nothing to actually care for pregnant women and babies. And they took their sincere evangelical followers for granted, and played them for suckers.....
"...Fast forward - Today when I listen to Obama speak (and to his remarkable wife, Michelle) what I hear is a world view that actually nurtures life. Obama is trying to lead this country to a place where the intrinsic worth of each individual is celebrated. A leader who believes in hope, the future, trying to save our planet and providing a just and good life for everyone is someone who is actually pro-life....
"....The society that Obama is calling us to sacrifice for is a place wherein life would be valued not just talked about....
"Regardless of the official position of the Supreme Court on abortion.... if our highest aspiration is to be a consumer with no thought or care for our neighbor, we will remain a culture in which abortion is not only inevitable but logical.
"What we need in America is a spiritual rebirth, a turning away from the false value of consumerism and utilitarianism that have trumped every aspect of human life. To implement this vision we need leaders that inspire but to do so they have to be what they say they are. It's not about policy it's about character...
"...Obama's rivals for the nomination -- the Clintons -- do not inspire.... The Clintons have enriched themselves through their connections to a point where they're able to make a $5 million personal loan to their campaign."For someone who says she has spent "the last 35 years of my life as an advocate for children" and/or "fighting for healthcare" that's a lot of money to have collected through doing good works....
"...Similarly the Republicans have also been hypocrites while talking big, for instance about their pro-life ethic. But what have they achieved? First, through their puritanical war on sex education they've hindered our country from actually preventing unwanted pregnancy. Second, through the Republican Party's marriage to the greediest and most polluting earth-destroying corporations they've created a climate (both moral and physical) that has scorched the earth for-profit, with no regard to future generations whatsoever. The Republicans are to the pro-life movement what the Clintons are to selfless public service...
"...The real solution to abortion is to change the heart of America... Our country needs someone to show us a better way, a president who is what he seems, someone with actual moral authority that our diverse population can believe in who has the qualities that make us want to follow him. Obama is that person."
Spin? No, it's just the latest installment in the "Obama mythology".
Obama Supporter Exercises His "Right to Remain Silent"
In an interview with Texas State Senator Kirk Watson on Feb. 19, Hardball host Chris Matthews asked the Senator to name some of Barack Obama's legislative accomplishments. Watch the video below to hear his reply:
Matthews' demeanor towards Obama seems to be at odds with previous statements he has made in praise of Obama. On February 12 he remarked:
Matthews' demeanor towards Obama seems to be at odds with previous statements he has made in praise of Obama. On February 12 he remarked:
"I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."For the latest developments on Chris Matthews' leg, see the "Chris Matthews' Leg" blog. The proprietor of this blog claims his site has "been designated the official oracle and chronicle of the thoughts, actions and, most importantly “sensations” of Chris Matthews’ Leg."
Friday, June 6, 2008
Would Obama Survive a Background Check to Serve in the US Military?
A poster on the Free Republic wonders: "Would Obama Survive a Background Check to Serve in the US Military?"
The Democrats are on the brink of nominating an individual to serve as our Commander in Chief who would likely not qualify to be a basic military enlistee, based on his associations.
The typical things that the military looks for during routine enlistment background checks for recruits are associations with people or organizations that wish harm to the United States. [Bill Ayers?] They also look for ties to radical religious organizations and individuals, [Jeremiah Wright?] and association with those who have connections with openly hostile countries, such as Syria (Tony Rezko has dual citizenship and traveled there regularly).
Unfortunately, there is no such background check for anyone running for president. How ironic that a basic enlisted military recruit faces more rigorous screening than the Commander in Chief!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
"Change We Can Believe in"?
At a press conference several weeks ago, Barack Obama strongly condemned inflammatory comments made by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday...," he said. "The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago."
On Wednesday, just hours after his former pal, Tony Rezko was convicted of fraud, money laundering and bribery, Obama said, "I am saddened by todays verdict. This isn't the Tony Rezko I knew...."
Rev. Wright is not the same person he met 20 years ago, and Tony Rezko is not the same person he once knew.
The two have suddenly changed from Dr. Jekylls into Mr. Hydes?
Is this the kind of "change" Barack Obama wants us to believe in?
"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday...," he said. "The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago."
On Wednesday, just hours after his former pal, Tony Rezko was convicted of fraud, money laundering and bribery, Obama said, "I am saddened by todays verdict. This isn't the Tony Rezko I knew...."
Rev. Wright is not the same person he met 20 years ago, and Tony Rezko is not the same person he once knew.
The two have suddenly changed from Dr. Jekylls into Mr. Hydes?
Is this the kind of "change" Barack Obama wants us to believe in?
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Obama's Church Problems Finally Solved
Pastor Dan of the Salem church in Wisconsin has the answer to Barack Obama's Church Problems.
"I think you should join Salem UCC in the Town of Wayne, Wisconsin," he says in a letter penned to Obama. "We're a small, aging congregation deep in the heart of...Wisconsin...
"Its rural location is actually its finest selling point. We could shut down the county highways, pen up those bastards from Fox News in Kohlsville and trap CNN in Kewaskum. Better yet, since there's only one hotel within fifteen miles, they probably won't even bother to follow you out here...."
"After a long, bruising primary season in which your "Man of the People" credentials have been severely challenged, I think you need to steal a page out of W.'s playbook. We'll buy you an old pig farm, you can throw up a protective screen of barbed wires and trees, then invite in select members of the press corps to watch you chop brush, mountain bike, or threaten to run them over with a borrowed pickup truck - no one will hold it against you....
"The more I think about it, the more perfect it seems for you. The real estate might be a bit pricier than Crawford, but it's a helluvalot cooler in the summer. Besides there's cows here. Real cows, not those fake, weird-looking longhorns they have in Texas....
"Just so long as you promise to show up to work at our annual Chicken Barbecue (Wednesday, June 18th!)...
"At the very least, you'd find a community of very loving, very accepting, very ordinary people to take you in. What've you got to lose?
Blessings,
Pastor Dan
Full text of the letter
H/T - Daily Kos
"I think you should join Salem UCC in the Town of Wayne, Wisconsin," he says in a letter penned to Obama. "We're a small, aging congregation deep in the heart of...Wisconsin...
"Its rural location is actually its finest selling point. We could shut down the county highways, pen up those bastards from Fox News in Kohlsville and trap CNN in Kewaskum. Better yet, since there's only one hotel within fifteen miles, they probably won't even bother to follow you out here...."
"After a long, bruising primary season in which your "Man of the People" credentials have been severely challenged, I think you need to steal a page out of W.'s playbook. We'll buy you an old pig farm, you can throw up a protective screen of barbed wires and trees, then invite in select members of the press corps to watch you chop brush, mountain bike, or threaten to run them over with a borrowed pickup truck - no one will hold it against you....
"The more I think about it, the more perfect it seems for you. The real estate might be a bit pricier than Crawford, but it's a helluvalot cooler in the summer. Besides there's cows here. Real cows, not those fake, weird-looking longhorns they have in Texas....
"Just so long as you promise to show up to work at our annual Chicken Barbecue (Wednesday, June 18th!)...
"At the very least, you'd find a community of very loving, very accepting, very ordinary people to take you in. What've you got to lose?
Blessings,
Pastor Dan
Full text of the letter
H/T - Daily Kos
Monday, June 2, 2008
Hillary Embraces the "Obama Doctrine"! Agrees to Meet With the Enemy!
Throughout the Presidential campaign Barack Obama has repeatedly said he'd be willing to meet with leaders he doesn't like.
In a speech in Denver earlier this year, Barack Obama criticized Hillary Clinton for refusing to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying she was "embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don't like".
Well, now comes word that Senator Clinton is about to prove Senator Obama wrong and meet with a "certain" leader she absolutely abhors:
From the AP:
In a speech in Denver earlier this year, Barack Obama criticized Hillary Clinton for refusing to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying she was "embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don't like".
Well, now comes word that Senator Clinton is about to prove Senator Obama wrong and meet with a "certain" leader she absolutely abhors:
From the AP:
Barack Obama said Monday he has asked Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for a meeting on her terms "once the dust settles" from their race...Hillary seems to be waffling there just a tad bit. However, Barack Obama is proving once again that he's truly a man of his word.
...Obama said he spoke with Clinton on Sunday after calling to congratulate her on her victory in the Puerto Rico primary.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
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