Jan

Limbaugh Responds to Obama

JFM Crow on January 24th, 2009

Limbaugh Responds to Obama

by Byron York 2007-10-17globalwarming

According to an account in the New York Post, President Barack Obama yesterday told Republican leaders,

“You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done.” With George W. Bush now off the stage, it may be that Obama and some of his fellow Democrats view Limbaugh, and not John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, or any other elected official, as the true leader of the Republican opposition. This morning I asked Rush for his thoughts on all this, and here is his response:

There are two things going on here. One prong of the Great Unifier’s plan is to isolate elected Republicans from their voters and supporters by making the argument about me and not about his plan. He is hoping that these Republicans will also publicly denounce me and thus marginalize me. And who knows? Are ideological and philosophical ties enough to keep the GOP loyal to their voters? Meanwhile, the effort to foist all blame for this mess on the private sector continues unabated when most of the blame for this current debacle can be laid at the feet of the Congress and a couple of former presidents. And there is a strategic reason for this.

Secondly, here is a combo quote from the meeting:

“If we don’t get this done we (the Democrats) could lose seats and I could lose re-election. But we can’t let people like Rush Limbaugh stall this. That’s how things don’t get done in this town.”

To make the argument about me instead of his plan makes sense from his perspective. Obama’s plan would buy votes for the Democrat Party, in the same way FDR’s New Deal established majority power for 50 years of Democrat rule, and it would also simultaneously seriously damage any hope of future tax cuts. It would allow a majority of American voters to guarantee no taxes for themselves going forward. It would burden the private sector and put the public sector in permanent and firm control of the economy. Put simply, I believe his stimulus is aimed at re-establishing “eternal” power for the Democrat Party rather than stimulating the economy because anyone with a brain knows this is NOT how you stimulate the economy. If I can be made to serve as a distraction, then there is that much less time debating the merits of this TRILLION dollar debacle.

Obama was angry that Merrill Lynch used $1.2 million of TARP money to remodel an executive suite. Excuse me, but didn’t Merrill have to hire a decorator and contractor? Didn’t they have to buy the new furnishings? What’s the difference in that and Merrill loaning that money to a decorator, contractor and goods supplier to remodel Warren Buffet’s office? Either way, stimulus in the private sector occurs. Are we really at the point where the bad PR of Merrill getting a redecorated office in the process is reason to smear them? How much money will the Obamas spend redecorating the White House residence? Whose money will be spent? I have no problem with the Obamas redoing the place. It is tradition. 600 private jets flown by rich Democrats flew into the Inauguration. That’s fine but the auto execs using theirs is a crime? In both instances, the people on those jets arrived in Washington wanting something from Washington, not just good will.

If I can be made to serve as a distraction, then there is that much less time debating the merits of the trillion dollar debacle.

One more thing, Byron. Your publication and website have documented Obama’s ties to the teachings of Saul Alinksy while he was community organizing in Chicago. Here is Rule 13 of Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals:

“Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”

Tags: Obama, Socialism, US Politics

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Jan

Obama escalates worldwide ‘abortion’ holocaust

JFM Crow on January 24th, 2009

Change that’s sad to believe in

By Arlen Williams

This act of national treachery and international atrocity by “President” Obama is now done. Today, by executive order, our money is now being confiscated by federal tax and used to promote the killing of infants in the womb, throughout the world. Global socialist and eugenicist abortion pushers hide behind the fallacious “health of the mother” excuse, in citing this move as favorable to human rights, though it is all about killing humans. That posture is deceit, since discussing surgical assistance for mothers in jeopardy was never denied by the Mexico City protocol, now reversed by Obama (last known evidentiary name: Soetoro).

ChristianNewsWire quotes Roman Catholic clergyman, Frank Pavone, “When President Obama takes money out of taxpayers’ pockets to abort children, he can no longer claim with any legitimacy that he wants to reduce the number of abortions performed here or abroad. Forcing Americans to pay for the killing of innocents will not ‘bring us together;’ there can be no common ground when the ground is soaked with innocent blood.”

foxnews_scrnshot

On the right we have the Nursery Rampage where a man stabs kids in a Belgian nursery. On the left we have the headline where Obama reverses the ban on funding oversees abortions. For the first there is outrage. For the second there is jubilation by the pro-aborts. Which kills more children?

And if that’s not enough, there’s the story about the start of a clinical trial that will use embryonic stem cells — just in case we’re not killing enough babies through abortion.

- I.O. reader correspondent, Richard Wright

From the morning’s FoxNews.com article, “Obama to Lift Ban on Overseas Abortion,” beginning and last two paragraphs, below.

President Obama on Friday is expected to lift a ban on federal funding for international groups that promote or perform abortions, reversing a policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

“President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.

Obama has spent his first days in office systematically signing executive orders reversing Bush administration policies on issues ranging from foreign policy to government operations. On Thursday, he signed three executive orders to rein in secretive U.S. counterterror policies and end harsh interrogations.

The innocent infant’s excruciating terror, of being gouged and torn limb from limb in the womb increases, while life gets easier for terrorists both abortionist and Islamist. May you be saddled with the judgment thereof, Barack — the blood of “the least of these, MY brothers” be upon you and your conspirators in this.

Tags: Abortion, Christianity, Evil, Obama

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Jan

Lies and plenty of them

JFM Crow on January 12th, 2009

No such thing as Situational ethics with God

Marie Jon, RA analyst

truth In Southern California, we have one of the largest county fairs, where there is always someone demonstrating a miracle knife that slices and dices.

As people watch the demonstration, it looks pretty good. Look at all the fruits and vegetables that knife can cut. We’ve all seen the guy on TV who sells products that can do unbelievable things. They all come with a 100% money-back guarantee.

However, there is just one problem. When you try to return things, you find that the guarantee policy isn’t as generous as promised. You realize that you’ve been snookered.

Official deception

In 1944, the United States was embroiled in World War II against Japan and Germany. It would not be a stretch to say that our civilization literally hung in the balance. Our world would have been entirely different if our allies had lost.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was president and commander-in-chief. He was perceived as being pro-active and on top of his game. What the American people saw was a healthy, strong leader who would inspire our nation in one of its darkest hours. However, Roosevelt was an extremely ill man during the war. His team of advisers used every ploy to fool everyone into believing otherwise.

The media also hid the truth from the American people, who thought that their president was in excellent health. After all, he would have to be, to handle all the responsibilities that fell upon him.

Reporters willingly repeated the lies that Harry Truman gave them. He assured America that Roosevelt “looked great and ate a bigger lunch than I did.” Even Roosevelt’s doctors were telling the American public and the entire world a bald-faced lie. The president’s cabinet also knew the truth and hid it.

As the lie was perpetuated, Gen. Harry Vaughan, a personal friend of Truman, revealed the truth about the very same lunch: “I had no idea he was in such a feeble condition.” The whole administration covered up the fact that Roosevelt was dying. He had hypertension, heart disease, and acute bronchitis.

In 1945, Roosevelt died due to congestive heart failure. So they all lied, so what? It was war and after all, we were fighting the Nazis. If our government hadn’t lied, we all might be speaking fluent German or Japanese. Wasn’t it Churchill who said something to the effect of, “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” fdr

With all of the subterfuge used in covering up Roosevelt’s health condition, it certainly wasn’t lying under oath. That came much later during Watergate and the Clinton scandals. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is another lying, deceitful politician that we’ve not heard the end of.

During Roosevelt’s era, the lies made no difference, right? After all, it was done for the good of the country and for the fate of the free world.

The God of truth

Situational ethics is a study to help people reconcile the shady gray areas of life, and perhaps choose between the lesser of two evils. But there are no gray areas with God.

Jesus made some pronounced statements about liars back in His day: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

According to the Word, the devil is not only a liar, but the father of lies. God’s Word puts the sin of lying in very clear terms.

Though our salvation centers in the Lord’s sacrifice, the Ten Commandments play a pivotal role in the lives of Christians. They deal with our words and our actions. How we act in relation to God and others takes morality to a more profound and deep level than what we say.

Bearing false witness

In our postmodern world, few seem to believe in absolutes of right or wrong. Still, branding someone a liar is one of the worst things you can say about anyone. Nobody wants to be considered a liar. That is why it was so humiliating and so wrong when Democrats, for political reasons, called President G. W. Bush a liar.

The war in Iraq became a lightning rod against Bush, whom I admire as a true and faithful servant in his response to terrorism. Since 9/11, he has kept America safe from further terrorist attacks. Yet, there are those who think nothing of pushing the envelope with their insulting mantra: “Bush lied and people died.”

Bearing false witness against another has its consequences. Incendiary words allowed every two-bit dictator to show disrespect for Bush, and further degrade the presidency. The Democrats knew they were lying, but they didn’t care. They diminished both the president’s and our nation’s status.

Bush leaves office with a very low popularity rating in large part because of the one-sided, biased media.

You’ll soon find out just how pervasive the media has been in persuading America’s electorate. In the months to come, President-elect Obama will be spoken of in glowing terms. The drive-by media will continue to lie. As our country moves in the wrong direction because of Obama’s policies, only good writes-ups and happy talk will be heard from our “in-the-tank spinmeisters.”

Moral conscience gw-bush

Though the world is telling us that right and wrong aren’t absolute, we intuitively know that lying is wrong. A while back, a political comedian wrote a book called Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. What a not-so-subtle subtitle, but it kind of makes a point.

Indeed, Al Franken is considered by many to be one of the worst foul-mouthed liars. Maybe he will consider updating his book with a chapter dedicated to telling how he and the Democrat Party in Minnesota stole a Senate seat by voter fraud.

Many people who have a secular-progressive-atheistic worldview believe that the world’s existence began by pure happenstance. Our schools and higher learning institutions are not allowed to teach Intelligent Design, because it challenges the lie of evolution.

However, there is a ray of hope. Not all of today’s postmodernists think alike. Many of them also believe that lying is wrong. They are bothered when they tell one lie. Could it be that we are moral beings created by a God who gave us a conscience that tells us that lying is wrong?

We do not have to look very far to see the trouble this world is in because of lies that lead to other sins: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

The legacy of lies

You can’t wake up without hearing bad news that boggles the human mind — wars, man’s inhumanity toward others, crimes, calamities.

Arrogance, self-centered greed, and lying deceitfulness caused the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac-Democrat Housing Debacle. Congressman Barney Frank and his buddies were in the front line that damaged our country’s economy. To this day, he denies they did anything wrong. Instead, the Democrats and the media feed us the lie that it was the Bush administration that caused the mess we’re in today.

Untruthfulness has immense potential for causing insurmountable damage. It’s obvious that no one likes getting lied to. It makes people feel like fools. They feel violated, cheated, and extraordinarily deceived. It’s not a good feeling.

For decades, the Israelis have been told there would be peace. However, there is no more trust left when trying to talk with Palestinians who would be more than happy knowing that every last Jew on this earth were dead. People of goodwill can’t barter with those who lie and have no respect for human life.

A courageous son of a Hamas leader gives us insight to what the tiny State of Israel is up against. “There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with water?”, said Mosab Hassan Yousef.

Throughout the Bible, we read one example after another of people who lied. The problems they caused were staggering then — and many of the same problems persist, in various forms, today.

Back to the future

As inauguration day draws near, the American people are ready to be comforted by an incoming president at any cost. They’d rather be spared the truth than to hear about hardships and sacrifices that are needed to fix our broken economy.

With no hesitation, Obama reaches “back to the future” to implement the same type of programs that failed our nation in the past. When more government jobs are created by means of higher taxes, less money is available to employ people in the more efficient private sector.

bho-talking Consider the following excerpts from CNSNews.com: Obama’s ‘New Deal’ Not Likely to Cure Economy or Unemployment Rate, Free Market Economists Say:

“President-elect Barack Obama has announced an economic plan comprised of massive public works programs to stimulate the economy and create 2.5 million jobs, at an estimated cost of $1.2 trillion.

“Some analysts are calling it a New New Deal, comparing it to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal response to the 1930s Depression. But government data show that FDR’s programs did not substantially reduce unemployment, and some economists think such programs actually prolonged the Depression and kept unemployment high.

“In a radio address on Saturday, available on his change.gov Website, Obama said that he and his economic advisers had crafted an economic recovery plan ‘that will help save or create at least two-and-a-half million jobs, while rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our schools, reducing our dependence on oil, and saving billions of dollars.’

“Robert Higgs, a senior fellow at the free market Independent Institute, told CNSNews.com that ‘Obama’s plan for a large public works program certainly resembles some of the Roosevelt efforts, especially in 1935-1940, under the WPA, the Works Progress Administration.’

” ‘I think there’s a very high probability that this kind of proposal will actually make matters worse,’ said Higgs.

“Lee E. Ohanian, professor of economics at UCLA, agreed that Obama’s plan shared similarities with Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal,’ which expanded the federal government with the creation of 36 agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Public Works Administration, and the Social Security Administration.

“In addition, Roosevelt presided over the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the National Labor Relations Board, the National Recovery Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Works Progress Administration.

“The Roosevelt administration launched those myriad programs to stimulate the U.S. economy out of the Depression and get unemployed Americans back to work, but data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the yearly rates of unemployment during the New Deal in the years before America entered World War II did not decline to the rates prior to the Depression.” Full Article

Promise of change

As the new administration comes into office, let us not forget that Obama promised America change and truthful transparency. Many doubt that he will be able to deliver what he has promised. He is the same man who embraced Rev. Jeremiah Wright for twenty years, and palled around with unapologetic home-grown terrorist William Ayers and had dealings with Tony Rezko. Taxpayer money was given freely to friends in Chicago. We’re sure to have an unbelievably interesting full four years.

With Obama’s finagling, history will repeat itself under the leadership of another big tax-and-spend Democrat who believes that big government is the answer for everything.

The Democrat Party has missed the mark. They have pulled the wool over the eyes of many and refused to understand that FDR’s policies prolonged the Great Depression by an educated guess of seven years. Despite all the accolades given to Roosevelt, prosperity eventually returned to the United States after World War II.

America will not see positive changes. Between Obama’s poor domestic and frighteningly naive foreign policies, and the declining social mores, we will be pushed to the brink. It may take decades to recover from the damage caused by this extremely liberal administration.
gallery-of-fools
“Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people” (Psalm 120:2)
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Tags: Christianity, Democrats, Economy, Leadership, Pelosi, US Politics

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Jan

John Fund Blasts Speaker Pelosi on ‘Reforms’

JFM Crow on January 9th, 2009

Pelosi delivering ’senility you can believe in’

By: David A. Patten

The rule changes Speaker Nancy Pelosi is steamrolling through the House of Representatives contradict President-elect Barack Obama’s bipartisan promises, and also fly in the face of Pelosi’s own pledge to “insure the rights” of the minority party.

That’s the view of Wall Street Journal columnist and author John Fund, who documented Friday how Pelosi’s tune has changed in a bid to drown out the voices of Republican minority opposition in Congress.

The recent rule changes engineered by Pelosi, for example, end term limits for committee chairmanships. This is a major reversal of GOP reforms ushered in by the 1994 ”Contract With America.”

Term limits, Fund writes in a commentary titled “Pelosi Turns Back the Clock on House Reform,” helped “inject new ideas and merit into Congress.”

Pelosi’s rule changes partially restore the old Democratic, seniority-based system of chairmanships.

“Can this really be the ‘change’ that voters wanted last November?” Fund asks rhetorically. “Wags are already joking that Democrats are really delivering ‘senility you can believe in.’”

The rule changes passed Tuesday also severely restrict the legislative maneuver called a “motion to recommit” - a century-old maneuver that the minority party uses to send bills that reach the floor back to committees, where they can be endlessly debated.

GOP representatives used the tactic 50 times in the last session, mostly to stave off hidden tax hikes buried in larger bills.

Fund points out that Pelosi’s new rules sharply contradict positions she took before Democrats came to power. In 2004, Fund says, Pelosi rolled out a “Bill of Rights” to protect the interests of the party not in power.

“When we [Democrats] are shut out, they are shutting out the great diversity of America,” Pelosi warned at the time. “We want a higher standard.”

Just prior to becoming Speaker, Pelosi spoke of “bipartisanship” and her plans “to ensure the rights of the minority.” Now that Democrats have consolidated their power, however, things are obviously different.

One of the ironies of Pelosi’s power grab, Fund points out, is that conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats are among the losers under the new rules because they often lack seniority.

Fund quotes Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, who observes: “All those nice pro-life, gun-owning young Democrats recruited to run by Rahm Emanuel will never have any real influence now. They were useful in getting Democrats a majority, but now they’ll be in the back of the bus.”

Tags: Pelosi, US Politics

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Jan

An open letter to the world: Sorry, no apologies

JFM Crow on January 5th, 2009

Hamas charter rejects negotiations as legitimate against Zionists

By DAVID BREAKSTONE

‘Not by might and not by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.” Ironically, it was this verse from Zechariah, read on the Shabbat of Hanukka, that was being chanted in synagogues throughout the world several days ago, precisely as Israel’s air force was embarking on a display of might and power that it rarely demonstrates. So, do we believe in the message of our prophets or not?

With our reservists being called up by the thousands and our troops having into Gaza, I recall as well another chant, an echo of the first, and one that was no less sacred to me in my formative years: “Fighting for peace is like f–king for virginity.” Both phrases continue to resonate within me, together giving expression to the cherished commandment of the Jewish tradition that we are to seek peace.

How, then, do I reconcile my unabashed support for the current military operation in Gaza with the values that I hold so dear? The answer is a complex one, but in its simplest form I would offer that we really are not fighting for peace; we are fighting to protect ourselves and for our right to some normalcy in our lives. Few, if any, are under the illusion that this military campaign is going to result in peace. Hamas has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to the destruction of the State of Israel, and no amount of bombs is going to alter that. The problem is, neither is any amount of diplomacy. The Hamas covenant explicitly rejects negotiations as a legitimate form of struggle against the Zionist entity.

Being the stubborn people that we are, however, we have repeatedly refused to accept this reality. Just over six months ago, we and Hamas agreed to an Egyptian-brokered “lull” in the use of violence against one another. Our hope was that our avowed enemy would use this period of calm to invest its resources and energies in promoting the social agenda on which it rose to power, and in the meantime reconcile itself - without ever having to say so out loud - to living alongside its hated adversary. Our fear was that Hamas would instead take advantage of the opportunity to act with impunity that it had bargained for to enhance its firepower. Unfortunately, it was our fears that were realized and not our hopes.

DURING THE past half year of relative quiet, a full 538 mortar shells and rockets were launched against Israel, and on December 21, Hamas unilaterally declared an end to the tenuous respite in its holy war against the Jewish state. Until the very last minute, our leaders were scurrying around the region, and calling around the globe, in an anxious effort to grasp at any diplomatic straw that might have prevented the renewal of all-out violence.

Leaders of Arab states were actively supportive of these efforts. So were leaders of the free world, particularly in Europe and the United States.

Nevertheless, Hamas chose to intensify its barrage of missiles rather than talk, its commitment to our destruction apparently even stronger than its will to survive. As the number of rockets exploding in southern towns and settlements surpassed 80 per day last week, and with the wounds inflicted by more than 5,000 such explosions over the past eight years still raw, our military and political leaders, having exhausted all diplomatic options, determined that enough was enough.

CLEARLY THEY were giving expression to the public mood as well. Some 90 percent of the country’s citizenry supported the initial strikes against Gaza. But only a few days later, the question has already arisen as to whether or not our response has been disproportionate to the threat we are trying to fend off. A perfectly proportionate response, of course, would have been to fire one missile into Gaza for every missile fired from it. Or, perhaps, proportionality requires calculating the number of missiles per capita raining in on the population of Sderot and its environs, and sending an equivalent number back to terrorize the civilian population of Gaza City. That would give them a taste of their own medicine, wouldn’t it?

We are, however, long past the point where dispensing medicine can do any good. Instead, we are interested in radical surgery, in eliminating as much of the cancer of radical Islamic terrorism as possible before it metastasizes throughout the region, and eventually the entire world. If someone, somehow can offer us a noninvasive procedure that will allow us to do that, I am confident with every fiber of my being that we will opt for it, even if the method is considered chancy and unproven.

We have taken risks numerous times in the past and, despite repeated disappointments, we will be prepared to do so again. We really are a peace-loving nation; it is all of our children who have been asked to cross the border, and on the other side of it are real human beings, good people among them who are no less deserving than we of the tranquility Hamas has denied us all. Our tradition, however, demands not only that we seek peace, but also that we choose life. I am deeply sorry about the terrible suffering of the innocent that we are perpetuating within Gaza, but under the circumstances, I offer no apologies.

The writer is a member of the executives of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization, where he serves as head of the Department for Zionist Activities.

Tags: Hamas, Islam, Israel, War

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Nov

there will be change

JFM Crow on November 30th, 2008

Christian activism: there will be change

Marie Jon, RA analyst

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Has America become a nation that worships God only with their lips? Open your spiritual eyes. We have lost our first love. As the children of the Most Holy Father, it is time for a new ecclesiastic awakening.

This darkened world cannot see the true beauty or the loveliness of the Savior. For, too many do not seek the holiness of divine truth, so that man may understand the Father. Many have hardened their hearts, while some have completely turned away from the One who loves them so very much.

The church is the channel through which the Word shall come to the world. Our Creator constituted the church so that Christ could reveal Himself to us. In turn, we must be a glorious light, so we may reveal Him to others. If only those who claim to be Christians would listen to the words of Christ, then all who come in contact with us would acknowledge that they have been with Jesus. Those in the world would desire to learn of Him.

It has been reported that President-elect Barack Hussein Obama has not been attending church, nor has he decided on a particular D.C. house of worship to join. One wonders what example he is setting as a leader of a nation that has enjoyed the blessing of God. Instead, Obama uses his free time to work out at a Chicago gym every Lord’s Day since he won the election.

The dilemma for Obama is that he does not want to attend services at a mainstream Christ-centered denominational church. He desires the church that he left while campaigning for the presidency. Obama is arranging things so he can have what he has always believed in.

Will Black Liberation Theology become popular, not only for the White House residents, but for many of those who voted for Obama? Do not be surprised when the multitudes gather in these unbiblical churches to indulge in their abhorrent teachings. The consequences will not be pleasing to the Alpha and the Omega.

It would not surprise many of us who have been observant to see Reverends Jeremiah Wright and Otis Moss III become more public while visiting the president in the Oval Office. They share the same faith as Obama. It’s my belief that all of Obama’s pals will be welcomed at his doorstep.

America wanted change. We will have change in the form of a quasi-cult, a social gospel that will bring with it socialism and Marxist beliefs. Things will start moving fast once Obama is sworn into office, that’s for sure. It was Rev. Wright who brought attention to Black Liberation Theology, a teaching that refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community.

“If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.” — Dr. James Cone, founder of Black Liberation Theology.

Many proponents of Black Liberation Theology do not believe in the divinity of Christ or in His Second Coming. They insist, however, that every social injustice that they perceive must be eliminated through the political process.

Liberationists such as Obama believe in a God who participates in the destruction of the white enemy. “What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.” — Dr. James Cone

What a spectacle, not only for America, but the whole world to behold as the President of the United States attends a denomination that finds bigoted division, anti-Semitism, and disdain for white folk as a godly attribute. I’m sure that the drive-by-media will make his religious beliefs acceptable to the lost masses who see Obama as the one they have been waiting for.

Barack Obama is not just a far-left radical Democrat. There appears to be no spiritual light in him. How does he reconcile and defend his stance on infanticide? He can because he does not hold to biblical teachings.

The United Churches of Christ provide a place of worship to those who have no problems with Planned Parenthood’s genocide facilities. Gay activists are given a place to wallow in their self-abasing and grievances instead of counseling them that they do not have to live unnatural lifestyles. The book to the Corinthians addresses this very topic (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). In Christ we have victory over the flesh (Romans 1:26-27). However, The United Churches of Christ do not practice sound doctrines. They would rather tickle the ears of their congregations.

For weeks, churches have been the target of those who are not satisfied with the vote that took place in California. Even though the state is very liberal, the people voted to keep marriage between one man and one woman. Why are these people continuing in lawlessness? They feel emboldened to do so because of Obama. They understand that his sentiments favor embracing homosexual “marriage.”

We can judge Obama by his works and by who he has chosen to befriend. These are legitimate topics to ponder. We must ask ourselves why the most radical people, even terrorists, gravitate towards Obama. A righteous judgment might be in store for a country that has gone astray and not been entirely faithful to fulfill the task of The Great Commission.

“For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

If Christians are not willing to stem the tide of wickedness that abounds, our great nation might see trials and tribulations befall us. These times of troubles may come in the form of terrorist attacks at home and aboard. We’re just beginning to see our own undoing. The headlines of the day are ominous both politically and socially. For you see, it did not bring us favor with the most Holy God when many voted for a “messiah” figure who does not believe in the sanctity or protection of human life. The plethora of unChristlike beliefs that Obama holds is staggering. Just revisit the teachings of BL theology.

Does it truthfully matter where this faker attends church while having a deceitful heart? “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). We can pray that Obama has a rebirth experience with the God of the Bible for America’s sake.

Excerpts from Associate Press: “Obama’s church choice likely to be scrutinized”:

The choices are abundant. Numerous, thriving congregations are an easy walk from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Just across Lafayette Square from the White House is St. John’s Church, an Episcopal parish known as the “Church of the Presidents,” where presidents as far back as James Madison have worshipped. St. John’s has a standing invitation: Pew 54 is the President’s Pew, reserved for the nation’s leader.

Or he could choose, as many presidents have done, not to attend services at all. President George W. Bush, for instance, has only infrequently attended services in Washington, occasionally going to St. John’s.

Whatever choice the Obamas make, it is sure to be analyzed through the prism of Obama’s relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who was Obama’s pastor for 20 years at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Obama resigned from Trinity during the presidential campaign after inflammatory comments by Wright from the pulpit became a campaign issue.

Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for Obama’s transition, declined to discuss which church the Obamas might attend.

Obama has spoken frequently about the importance of his Christian faith. In his 2006 book, “The Audacity of Hope,” he wrote that “the historically black church offered me a second insight: that faith doesn’t mean that you don’t have doubts, or that you relinquish your hold on this world. … You needed to come to church precisely because you were of this world, not apart from it.”

Despite those words, Obama has attended church sparingly in the past several months. Since winning the election, he has spent Sunday mornings at the gym. Many Washington-area churches hope that will change after he is inaugurated.

At Metropolitan AME Church, a historic, predominantly black congregation six blocks from the White House, senior pastor Ronald Braxton says parishioners have been buzzing about the possibility that the incoming president, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters — 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha — might attend services with them. Full Article

Like millions of other Americans, with simple faith I gave my heart to Christ. As a young pre-teen and into my adulthood, I understood the biblical meaning of being washed in the atoning blood that saved my soul. Every single day is a learning experience with my friend and Savior.

The RenewAmerica.us website is sending out a clarion call, rededicating ourselves to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

There will come a time when God will no longer wink at sin. We are called out to become a people ready to claim the blessed assurance. But first we must feel the need for a humbling experience before a loving Savior. It is Christ who has blotted out, as a thick cloud, our transgressions (Isa. 44:22). Thy “sins, which are many, are forgiven” (Luke 7:47). If we turn to the Lord we will see how precious is the sunlight of His love.

Will God find a people who will wholeheartedly give their all to Him? If we allow The Almighty to have His way, miracles will happen and hurts will be healed. For it was Christ who came to mend the broken hearted. It is the grace of Christ that purifies while it pardons, and readies us for a holy heaven by making us strong while here on this earth.

We can grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, until we reach His full stature. America must reach the high standard which God has set before us. We can no longer remain stunted in our religious life. The reflection of His light must shine if we are to become light bearers for the Savior. Let’s start today.

Because of what many Americans have observed throughout this past election, prospects are fearful and perplexing. You are invited to visit and take part in Christian activism for America’s sake: AmericasRevival.com and DecentAmerica.com need you and your prayerful input.

It is scriptural that we pray for those who have political power over our nation. When we are on our knees, we will experience and understand Christlike humility. We can begin our task by praying for President-elect Barack Obama and his entire cabinet. Time is running out. There will be change!

Song: If My People Pray

Tags: America, Christianity, Obama

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Nov

This? is the Promised Change?

JFM Crow on November 17th, 2008

Over 70% of Obama’s cabinet former Clinton staffers

Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration.

Obama’s advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton’s foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem.

Clinton would be well placed to become the country’s dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New York, she has specialised in foreign affairs and defence. Although she supported the war in Iraq, she and Obama basically agree on a withdrawal of American troops.

Clinton, who still harbours hopes of a future presidential run, had to weigh up whether she would be better placed by staying in the Senate, which offers a platform for life, or making the more uncertain career move to the secretary of state job.

As part of the coalition-building, Obama today also reached out to his defeated Republican rival, John McCain, to discuss how they could work together to roll back some of the most controversial policies of the Bush years. Putting aside the bitter words thrown about with abandon by both sides during the election campaign, McCain flew to meet Obama at his headquarters in the Kluczynski Federal Building, in downtown Chicago.

Obama, speaking before the meeting, said: “We’re going to have a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country.” He said he also wanted to thank McCain for his service to the country.

Asked by a reporter whether he would work with Obama, McCain, who has long favoured a bipartisan approach to politics, replied: “Obviously”.

Sources on both sides said Obama did not offer McCain a cabinet job, but focused on how the senator for Arizona could help to guide through Congress legislation that they both strongly favour.

Given Obama’s status as president-in-waiting, the two met in a formal setting, a room decked out with a US flag, and were accompanied by senior advisers. Obama appeared the more relaxed of the two, sitting with legs crossed, smiling broadly and waving to reporters, while McCain sat stiffly, with a seemingly fixed grin.

Although the two clashed during the election campaign over tax policy and withdrawal from Iraq, they have more in common than they have differences. They both favour the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention centre, an increase in US troops to Afghanistan, immigration reform, stem cell research and measures to tackle climate change, and oppose torture and the widespread use of wire-tapping.

Although Democrats made gains in the Senate in the November 4 elections, they fell short of the 60 seats that would have allowed them to override Republican blocking tactics and will need Republican allies to get Obama’s plans through. This was highlighted today when the Democratic leadership in Congress announced that a broad economic stimulus package Obama sought was not likely to be passed because of Republican opposition.

Obama confirmed at the weekend that he would offer jobs to some Republicans. One of the names that crops up most often is Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator who is a specialist in foreign affairs and a critic of the Iraq war.

Tags: America, Hillary, Obama

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Nov

The War of Ideology

JFM Crow on November 10th, 2008

The rush to socialism

By JR Dieckmann

John McCain didn’t just lose the election, he butchered it. This had to be the worst run campaign ever in the history of the United States of America. McCain, so afraid of being seen as partisan, refused to use the most damaging issues against his opponent and instead, just kept repeating “I fought for you; I’ll veto pork spending; I’ll fix the economy — I know how to do it.” Never once did he attempt to place blame on those who caused the mortgage meltdown and the resulting decline in the economy. Instead, he repeatedly blamed it on Wall Street executives.

Never did he challenge Obama to produce his birth, education, or health records. Never did he talk about any of Obama’s life long association with anyone but William Ayres — which carried little weight with most American voters. McCain blew it by trying to appeal to Democrats more than conservatives, just as he has always done in the Senate. Without a conservative foundation, McCain had virtually no substance to campaign on. From the beginning he was the wrong choice to run as the Republican candidate, and he proved it by handing over the presidency to Barack Hussein Obama.

The fault is not McCain’s alone. He is who he is and he wanted to be president. Much of the fault lies with the failed Republican leadership who did everything they could to see to it that one of their own “good ole boys” became the candidate. Primary scheduling, allowing for crossover voting, and lack of leadership in setting rules for state party procedures, were only some of the failures of this RNC leadership which has turned its back on the Republican conservative base voters. The Republican party did this to themselves and they deserve the consequences; we the people don’t (except for those primary voters who voted for McCain).

In 2006, when Democrats took over the Congress, our calls went out for the Republican party to return to their conservative roots and stand up for the American morals and values that they once had. Those calls were ignored by party leaders and President Bush. Instead, they continued on their path to socialism and acceptance of liberal ideals in their quest to enlarge the party. Ronald Reagan didn’t win by pretending to be like Democrats. He won by pulling Democrats over to his way of thinking. That lesson has been lost on the current Republican leadership.

Once again we are asking: Will the Republican party learn this important lesson this time? If they don’t, they will go down to an even greater defeat again in the next election and the one after that. The Republican party has abandoned its foundation and will continue to collapse until that foundation of conservatism is reestablished.

We have been watching the country move to the left, so Republican leaders are thinking “we’d better move with them.” No! Wrong answer! The country is moving to the left because we are allowing it to be dragged in that direction by anti-American influences from both domestic and foreign sources. This has been going on for a very long time and no one since Joseph McCarthy has lifted a finger to stop it.

Never before has our American way of life been threatened from within as it is now. The Republican leadership doesn’t seem to understand what is happening. Liberalism is not the wave of the future, as the left would have us believe. It is a return to a pre American past where European socialism ruled, and future Americans fled to escape it.

And look what a free people built in a capitalist society — the greatest country on the face of the planet. The continued development of our nation is testimony to the success of limited government, personal liberty without government intrusion into our lives, individual accomplishment, and the right to keep what you earn. This nation could not have been built under socialistic rule. American conservatives want only to hold onto those things that have allowed us to enjoy the quality of life we have today. It is the Democrat socialists who want to change it, and in doing so will destroy the very fabric of the American dream.

For 230 years, conservative capitalists have worked hard to build our country into the envy of the entire world. Many have fought and died to keep America free for this progress to continue. Are we now going to just stand by and let the communists and socialists of the world step in and take over, changing our country to an old fashioned socialist society where individual freedom means nothing? It seems that is exactly what some voters in this country want to do. They like to call themselves “progressive,” when, in fact, they are “regressive” and would destroy the progress this country has made in the world.

This is a war of ideology and it’s about time the Republican party realized we are at war before it turns into a shooting war. Old fashioned socialism must be defeated, not compromised with, as George W. Bush and John McCain have been doing. This reality must be understood by those Republican members still left in Congress, and any future candidates who are considering entering the political arena. They are going to have to be willing to stand up and fight against those on the left who are intent on destroying the very foundation of our country. That is what conservatism is all about.

If McCain had won the election, nothing would change in the Republican party and the march to socialism in both major parties would continue. As bad as an Obama administration may be, it will hopefully be seen as a wakeup call to the Republican party, and a call to arms. Appeasement is not the answer to preserving our nation. The war has been brought to our soil and now is the time to stand up and fight for American freedom and values that will surely be taken away if the Republican party continues on the same path of appeasement. It’s time for new leadership. The truth is, at the present time Republicans have no leadership.

This is the same call that went out in 2006, and the Republican party responded by giving us John McCain. Will they do the same again in 2010 and 2012? Considering the Marxist agenda of Barack Hussein Obama and the Democrat party, there is a very good chance that the tables will be turned over in the 2010 Congress. After two years of watching the socialist holding full power over the country, will Americans be finally ready to throw them out of the government and restore American values? Or will so many Americans have become dependent on big government that their lives depend on keeping them in power?

That will all depend on the ratio of voters who pay taxes, versus voters who stand there with their hands out, a group which the Democrats hope to increase as fast as possible with Obama leading the charge. The Republican party needs to coalesce around a solid conservative ideology and make it the centerpiece of their platform. It is the only ideology that will allow our country to continue to grow as a free and prosperous nation.

Voting should be restricted to those who pay taxes, or else those with their hands out will vote for more and more handouts from whichever party offers more entitlements and other unconstitutional services. This only encourages more government dependents who vote for more handouts, and a promise of socialism becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. It’s already gone too far and is driving our country into bankruptcy.

The backward ideology of socialism must be recognized, exposed, confronted, and destroyed if our nation is to survive and remain free. Voters must be taught that voting for handouts and government dependence will not only cost them their freedom, but will ultimately result in tragedy for them when the money runs out and government can no longer provide for them. With the national debt and growing deficit spending by Congress, it is becoming clear that we have nearly reached that point now.

If you think that the government is going to pay your mortgage and put gas in your car, you’d better think again. The government doesn’t have any money, only debts. And it is we taxpayers who have been put into debt by irresponsible politicians who make the kind of promises we just saw in Barack Obama’s campaign — promises that cannot be kept because there is no money for them. What money the government takes in is already spent many times over. We the taxpayers have had enough of the theft of our earnings by government and are ready to revolt against it. In other words, we are mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore.

If you voted to get blood from a turnip, you’re going to be very disappointed. That turnip is dying in the ground and we have socialist Democrats to thank for it. It’s time to take personal responsibility for your life and start providing for yourself. You’re going to be needing it very soon. Taxpayers will not carry you on their backs forever in spite of what Obama is telling you. Stop depending on us to pay your bills because we are not going to be doing it much longer. It’s simple economics — we simply can’t afford it. Democrats are making it increasingly difficult for us to pay our own bills now. We feel no obligation to pay yours as well.

The golden goose will be butchered by Obama and his socialist comrades and very soon will lay no more golden eggs. Those of us who pay the bills are tired of having our money stolen by “spread the wealth” socialists, and we’re not going to stand for it much longer. I have no problem with a minimal government funded safety net for those who truly need it through no fault of their own, but I have a big problem with half of the country paying the way for the other half. The free ride on the backs of the wage earners is just about over.

The time is close at hand to pay the piper as we may realize during the next administration. No one, and no government can continue to live on borrowed money and irresponsible spending forever. Our national credit is just about used up and then there will be no more money to pay for unconstitutional, Democrat socialist programs. If you depend on government to pay your way, you had better start making other plans now.

Tags: America, Obama, Socialism

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Nov

Our worst days are yet to come

JFM Crow on November 8th, 2008

While a huge crowd gathered

By Marie Jon

Being politically correct has its rewards. Nevertheless, I must speak my mind without regard to acceptance or reprisals. I feel the need to express my thoughts.

As the huge crowd gathered at Grant Park in Chicago for a historical celebration, others like myself wept. Deep inside my heart, I knew what was to come. I did not see the stature bestowed upon this man who was not worthy of America’s trust.

While many good Americans were confused, I was not. For more than a year, political pundits had focused on Obama’s past political history, his choice of friends, and his quasi-Christian faith. His choice of Afrocentric Black liberation theology reinforced Obama’s disdain for America. He chose the theme of change and made it part of his ongoing mantra because it reflects his own political social agenda.

Happily, others will call Barack Obama their president. I cannot, because of who he is and what he stands for. Bluntly put, I have absolutely no respect for the Democrat Party or the man who will soon occupy the Oval Office. What little trust I had in the “opposition” has been destroyed. They knew who the real Obama was from the get-go, but still desperately desired him. Through Obama, all things are possible.

Is it any wonder that many Americans fear this man? Our worst days are yet to come. Obama is Saul Alinsky and Rev. Jeremiah Wright embodied into one confused human being. For the first time in America’s history, our newly-elected president will attempt to punish our country for its past transgressions. America does not deserve that kind of humiliation.

Excerpts from The American Spectator: “Saul Alinsky Takes the White House”:

“Conservatives may not realize just how difficult it might be to recover from this week’s elections.

“The day after the big defeat, the conservative chatter everywhere was about how the “movement” and the Republican Party (two different things) could finally unshackle themselves from the bad old habits that brought them down, and about how the ability to draw a sharp contrast with the Obama/Pelosi/Reid triumvirate would allow us to focus attention, rally the faithful, and re-storm the castle in 2010 and 2012.

“Fat chance.

“Too many conservatives think we’ve seen all this before — in 1964 and 1974 and 1992 — and that we know how to handle it. Fly, meet ointment: We’re not dealing with the same sorts of opponents. These New Alinskyites who are taking over the White House, combined with the most leftist congressional leadership in memory, will not let us play by the same rules under which conservatives recovered from those earlier debacles. They will try to drastically tilt the playing field, seed our side of the field with land mines and, in short, rig the process to make it next to impossible for the political right, or Republicans, to recover. And they are likely to succeed in at least some of these designs.

“It will begin with their efforts to secure a filibuster-proof majority of 60 senators (including the two independents). Right now the libs (and yes, all the Democratic senators, with the possible exception of Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, are libs) have 56, with three Republican moderates and one conservative leading their races but awaiting recounts or runoffs. Watch for the Alinskyites to try stealing all four, and to succeed in at least two. We’ve seen this game before. They did it in Indiana’s ‘Bloody Eighth’ congressional district in 1984. They almost succeeded in 2000 in Florida. They did succeed, outrageously so, in the Washington State governor’s race in 2004. Those are just the most obvious of many similar examples. And now they are even more ruthless, more lawyered-up, and in a more powerful position to pull it off than they were in any of those instances. ” Full Article

Obama used his winsome charm, and the whole world wondered after him, as if he were an angel of light. This cult-like figure filled people’s minds by using repetitive chants of “Hope” and “Yes We Can” to bedazzle his willing, but duped, followers. The media paved the path to allow Obama to seize the White House by not reporting everything they knew about the man.

As it stands, President Obama will lead America to hell and back using bullying, intrusive tactics. Just ask Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, a private citizen who asked a question. The entire world knows more about Joe the plumber than President Obama.

Joe’s privacy was invaded by a Democrat state official in Ohio. “Big Brother” will be watching and listening. Be careful. Every bit of Mr. Wurzelbacher’s personal information was revealed for the media to peruse. They tried to diminish and assassinate the man’s character in his own community. Is this what we have to look forward to in this Obama administration?

While many in our country feel jubilous, my knowledge of Obama prevents me from taking him to heart.

The most beloved civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, said it all for me and most other Americans who find themselves in a very uncomfortable and awkward position:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

While I am pleased to see how far racial relations have evolved for the betterment of our country, it was no surprise to me that a black American would become president. I have always felt proud of America’s willingness to correct her wrongs. However, it is devastating when I see that the wrong people are given great power and political sway over others who are made to feel unworthy to help themselves through education and hard work. The Democrat Party has victimized a part of its constituency by encouraging them to look towards big government for their every need.

Their brand of politics also hurts me. I am a Christian with a heart to love all peoples. Many patriotic Americans are fed up with the Rev. Wrights of the world and the drive-by media who imply that all conservatives are closet bigots.

During Obama’s run for the presidency, he continually injected race into the campaign. Dr. King died to suppress that kind of politics. He was victorious. However, Obama will change the way we see one another if we’re not cautious.

America will be sent to the woodshed for a thrashing by a bitter president. When speaking to a group of elitists in San Francisco, Obama said: “And it’s not surprising then they (Pennsylvanians) get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them.” However, he had nothing but praise for the good citizens of Pennsylvania when he stood before them to ask for their votes. Little did they know of his intentions to bankrupt the coal mining industry.

When I look at Obama, I see a man who Americans will not be able to count on. Deliberately, he will continue to divide our country and hasten the demise of America as we know it today.

Obama’s policies will bring grief, not only to America but to many other countries who continuously count on us to bring stability to the free world.

Americans will eventually regret giving the reigns over to a radicalized party that sees nothing worthy of preserving in our great country. I am sad to inform you that what has taken place might never be reversed. Once socialism takes root, it buries itself very deeply. We won’t see America for a very long time, if ever.

Tags: America, Obama, Socialism

US Politics No comments »

Nov

Michelle Obama speaks

JFM Crow on November 3rd, 2008

Michelle Obama - 2004

Tags: Obama, US Politics

US Politics No comments »

Nov

Obama - A Man of Questionable Character

JFM Crow on November 3rd, 2008

Oh by the way… I’m gettin rid of Coal

________________________________________

Barack Obama personal relations:

Robert B. Barnett - attorney

George H.W. Bush - tenth cousin

George W. Bush - tenth cousin once removed

Cassandra Q. Butts - law school friend

Richard B. Cheney - distant relative, ninth cousin

Winston Churchill - ninth cousin 3 times removed

Ann Dunham - mother

Madelyn Payne Dunham - maternal grandmother

Gerald R. Ford - tenth cousin

Michael B.G. Froman - law school friend

Julius Genachowski - law school friend

Robert Gibbs - communications director

Crystal Nix Hines - law school friend

Lyndon B. Johnson - fourth cousin 3 times removed

Emil Jones Jr. - mentor

James Reynolds Jr. - friend, neighbor

Rachel Klayman - editor

Robert E. Lee - fifth cousin 8 times removed

James Madison - third cousin 9 times removed

Brian P. Mathis - law school friend

Nancy L. McCullough - law school friend

Jonathan T. Molot - law school friend

Martin Nesbitt - friend

Michelle Obama - spouse

Sarah Hussein Obama - paternal grandmother

Thomas J. Perrelli - law school friend

Brad Pitt - ninth cousin

Antoin Rezko - contributor

Pete Rouse - Senate chief of staff

Jean Rudd - friend

Maya Soetoro-Ng - sister

Barack Obama Sr. - father

Harry S. Truman - seventh cousin 3 times removed

Other current Barack Obama relationships:

2005 Bankruptcy Law - opposed

2006 Alexi Giannoulias state treasurer campaign - endorsed

2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign - candidate

2008 Tobacco Regulation bill - co-sponsor

A Mother’s Promise - biographical film

Audacity of Hope - author

Bill Gates “last day” video - featured in

Congressional Black Caucus - member

Crown Publishing - author

Matthew Santos - modeled on

Muckety List of Most Networked in Chicago, 2008 - in top 100

Saddleback Civil Forum (8/16/2008) - participant

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations - member

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions - member

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs - member

Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs - member

Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations - member

U.S. Senate - senator

Yes We Can video - featured

Barack Obama past relationships:

2004 Barack Obama U.S. Senate campaign - candidate

ACORN vs. Illinois State Board of Elections - attorney

Chicago Annenberg Challenge - chairman

Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland - associate

Financial markets bailout bill (Senate-10/1/08) - voted for

Harvard Law Review - president

Charles J. Ogletree Jr. - college mentor

Samantha Power - aide

Sidley Austin LLP - intern

Laurence Tribe - research assistant

Trinity United Church of Christ (Chicago) - parishioner

Woods Fund of Chicago - director

Joe Wurzelbacher - mentioned in 10/15/08 debate

Congressional & campaign info:

Barack Obama is a Democrat from IL

Contact info

Campaign contributors (from the Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: America, Obama, US Politics

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Nov

Obama Media plays ‘Race Card’

JFM Crow on November 1st, 2008

Cautious joy as blacks imagine Obama win

Lula Cooper expects the tears to flow if Barack Obama becomes the first black president. But she’s not breaking out the tissues just yet.

“I cried when I marked my ballot for him. We’ve had such an incredible journey to this point,” said the former civil rights activist, her voice quavering. “I think he’s going to win, but I really am very, very cautious.”

Like a Hollywood blockbuster whose conclusion feels assured but still sets the heart racing, the endgame of this election has gripped black America with a powerful mixture of emotions.

Obama’s potential victory represents a previously unimaginable triumph over centuries of racism. But beneath the hope and pride lies fear: of polling inaccuracy, voting chicanery, or the type of injustice and violence that have historically stymied African-American progress.

Cooper, 75, experienced the oppression of the 1950s and ’60s as she was dragged off to jail for protesting segregation in Wilmington, Del., where her husband was DuPont’s first black chemist. Now living in the Southwest, she said she experienced modern politics when her husband lost a recent bid to become their city’s first black mayor after the election was switched to mail-in ballots rather that polling-place voting.

So when it comes to Obama, Cooper is “optimistic and hopeful — but experience plays a big part.”

“With my generation, in the ’60s every leader that we had was killed,” she said. “Then it’s almost like a plate over your heart. Once you’ve been hurt — King, Kennedy, Medgar Evers — you dare not put that much emotion out there again.”

With even some Republicans using the word “miracle” to characterize the prospect of a victory by GOP candidate John McCain, given his lagging poll numbers, the shock of an Obama loss would be almost incalculable for many blacks. So people are protecting themselves.

“I can’t tell you how much fear, but at the same time joy and expectation I have,” said James Lowry, a management consultant from Chicago. “It revolves around every five minutes. I have hope, I read the polls, I get excited, then I say, ‘Anything can happen.’”

Michael Cornwell, a surgeon from Atlanta, checks poll numbers daily online and fully expects Obama to win. Still, “you can’t shake the tension,” he said.

“We’re expecting something to come out, some closing of the polls,” Cornwell said on Thursday. “I see these Republican-driven articles saying the polls are tightening. Are they correct, or are they just a combination of Republicans wanting to make it look good and the media wanting it to be a tight race so more of the population will be engaged or buying copy?”

Paul Durr of Guys, Tenn., voted early last week. “I was jumping up and down,” he said. “The other people in line thought I was crazy.”

“If Obama wins, and I know he’s going to win, it will pull this country together in terms of race relations,” said Durr, who owns a cemetery monument company and is mayor of Guys, pop. 500.

“He has to win,” Durr said. “If he doesn’t, I think you’ll see this country — I’m afraid to say what I think would happen the next day. I don’t even want to think that way.”

Even if the polls do prove accurate and Obama does win, some of his enthusiastic supporters still have concerns about what lies beyond the mountaintop.

“The empire is in decline, the culture is in decay, the democracy is in trouble, financial markets near collapse,” said Princeton professor Cornel West. “It’s almost Biblical. And you can imagine what the black brothers and sisters in the barbershops and beauty salons say: ‘Right when the thing is about to go under, they hand it over to the black man.’”

“If people think Obama being elected is the crescendo, they’ll be disappointed,” said talk show host Tavis Smiley. “That’s when the real work begins.”

“I’m not sure people have considered, in the euphoria and jubilation and excitement, the fishbowl Obama will be in,” Smiley said. “How everything he does for black people, he runs the risk of being accused of being tribal.”

That sentiment is not lost on Leomia Dyches, a sometimes-employed hospital worker and single mother from Philadelphia with one son at home, an older son locked up, and several grandchildren to help look after.

“I think it’s great, but I’m not looking for no miracle anytime soon,” she said. “Hopes are really raised too high now because they’re looking for a quick fix, and that’s not going to happen.”

Then something wells up inside her. “But I know while he’s in office, before he leaves he can put some good things in place for poor people.”

“My 16-year-old son, he sees hope,” she continued. “A lot of these kids have no hope, it’s day in, day out, same thing. They can’t look forward to anything different. But a lot of these kids are excited. I have a 6-year-old grandson, and that’s all he talks about, ‘Obama, vote for Obama, don’t vote for John McCain.’ My 4-year-old granddaughter told me last night, ‘Not John McCain.’

“It’s always been said that you can do anything, but now we can see it. My parents have always said it, but it was like, ‘Yeah, right.’ But now it’s here and it’s facing you and it can be done. It can be done. These kids have to know, whatever they have in mind for their future, it can be done.”

Tags: America, Obama, US Politics

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Oct

Rescuing the Current Financial Order While Building a New One

JFM Crow on October 26th, 2008

DEBKAfile Special Analysis

The plan on the G7’s table is essentially to partially nationalize almost half of the Western banking system by buying up stakes in troubled banks or shoring up the banking system as a whole.

In their statement Saturday October 11, 2008, the G7 said that they were working on a rescue package tailored for each country within a common framework that would include recapitalizing banks, ensuring strong deposit insurance to protect savers and restarting frozen credit and mortgage markets.

Many leading Western economists strongly doubt that these measures will do the trick. DEBKAfile’s sources note that what the Americans and British have been aiming for until now is to restore investor confidence in the existing financial system by increasing credit, the lifeblood of economies based on the free market.

But matters have gone too far for what is essentially a patching up job. The upheavals of the last two weeks have demonstrated that the entire system is discredited. Trust has been suspended not only in the financial system but in the ability of political leaders to come up with solutions to protect the individual investor and taxpayer.

The partial nationalization of banks in the US and Europe breaks with the rules of the free market, of which the United States is the global epitome - a major factor in its superpower status. While Asia has prospered by embracing free-market practices, resentment is deepening over its shortcomings for which the US is blamed.

The Columbia University Nobel-prize winning economist, Prof. Joseph Stiglitz told the Washington Post : “People around the world once admired us for our economy and we told them if you want to be like us, here’s what you have to do – hand over power to the market. The point now is that no one has respect for that kind of model anymore given this crisis.”

And of course it raises questions about our credibility. Everyone feels they are suffering because of us.”

The only Western leader to address this problem head-on was Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. At a government session in Rome, Oct. 10, he revealed: “The idea of suspending the markets for the time it takes to rewrite new rules is being discussed.” Berlusconi added: “They can’t just be for one country, or even just for Europe, but global.”

This remark was quickly retracted after a phone call from the White House in Washington, according to our sources, because it opens up the even more problematic question of who is competent to lead the rewriting of the rules. However, the IMF, high priest of the gospel that the market knows best, has already turned around and is calling for more international regulation and oversight on global finance, a further retreat from its basic tenets.

The looming leadership vacuum is fueling financial fears. The US president George W. Bush’s presidency ends in January, Canada faces an election next week, Japan is on its third prime minister in a year; Britain’s Gordon Brown is fighting sliding opinion polls.

Who will therefore lead the transition to a different, or even amended, world financial order? And how credible would a G7 or EU consensus be, given that so many major economic powers including China, Russia, India and Brazil, were excluded from their counsels?

Israel is suffering its own leadership crisis.

Friday night, Ronnie Bar-On, finance minister in the caretaker government headed by Ehud Olmert, went on record again as declaring that Israel’s banks and financial institutions are solid. No Israeli bank is threatened with collapse, he insisted.

The corporate leaders (Lev Leviev, Eliezer Fishman and Nohi Dankner), whose bonds have plummeted on the Tel Aviv stock exchange, are equally sound and will recover, the finance minister stressed. As for the savers, who have lost 15-20 percent of their assets, they should not complain, said the minister, because in past years their value doubled. All he was willing to admit was that a new period was at hand.

By continuing to pour oil, the minister was gambling. The Tel Aviv Stock exchange opens for business Sunday, Oct. 12, after a six-day suspension due to Yom Kippur running into Saturday. It is unlikely that this market will sail unscathed through the global turbulence. Bar-On may have reason to regret that he did not announce an emergency plan in good time to protect savers and holders of pension funds, if not the banks.

Tags: Economy

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Oct

How Bankers Made a Killing off the Bailout

JFM Crow on October 22nd, 2008

It’s going to take over 20 years to repair the damage from the huge rip off created under the guise of ‘Bailout’.

By Pam Martens, CounterPunch

In 1897, when 8-year old Virginia O’Hanlon posed her Santa Claus query to the New York Sun, she received a heart-warming editorial response reassuring her that “He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist.”

Today, we hand our 8 year olds a $13 trillion national debt while our Congress hands Wall Street banksters the national purse without so much as a hearing to determine the cause of the debt collapse. Worse still, the money is doled out to the very same individuals who leveraged their institutions to casino status.

Americans are correctly outraged at the spectacle of U.S. crony capitalism crashing stock and bond markets around the globe while simultaneously watching the poster boys of crony capitalism on Monday, October 13, 2008 march up the granite steps of the United States Treasury building in their Armani shoes and heist a fresh $125 Billion of taxpayer dough in broad daylight.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson’s, $700 billion bailout plan to buy up distressed mortgage assets has spun off its own $250 billion subsidiary plan (skipping that pesky detail called taxation with representation) to inject $125 billion in equity capital into 9 of the biggest commercial and investment banks in the country. Another $125 billion may possibly go to smaller regional banks and thrifts, assuming they will sign on to the deal.

And what will taxpayers get for their investment in these financial firms whose stock prices are getting hammered as the public recoils in revulsion at what they have done to our financial system? The taxpayers, who were not invited to send their own legal representative to the negotiating table, will receive a paltry 5% dividend, exactly half of what Warren Buffett received for his recent investment in General Electric, a company that actually makes something real, like jet engines and light bulbs.

Now we learn from the U.S. Treasury web site that it has hired the law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett to represent our taxpayer interests going forward at a cost to us of $300,000 for six months work. But we’re not allowed to know their hourly wages; that information has been blacked out on the Treasury’s contract. Curiously, the Treasury has named in its contract the specific lawyers it wants to work for us. Two of those are Lee A. Meyerson and David Eisenberg. Mr. Meyerson has been a central player in facilitating the bank consolidations that have led to the present train wreck, including building JPMorgan Chase from the body parts of Chemical Bank, Chase Manhattan and Bank One.

Mr. Eisenberg has played a central role in the proliferation of the credit derivatives blowing up on the books of the Frankenbanks created by Mr. Meyerson. Here’s what the Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett web site says about its relationships and Mr. Eisenberg’s work:

“The Firm’s practice benefits from established relationships with all of the major investment banks. Mr. Eisenberg is responsible for creating the asset-backed practice at the firm and has represented clients involved in the structuring of the first asset-backed commercial paper program, the first public offering of credit card-backed securities by a bank and the first offering of asset-backed securities supported by dealer floor plan loansMr. Eisenberg represents JPMorgan Chase Bank, as issuer, in its ongoing program of public offerings of its credit card receivables backed notes. In addition Mr. Eisenberg represented JPMorgan Chase Bank in connection with the issuance of notes backed by commercial loans and in connection with its offerings of Leveraged Notes for Credit Exposure, a credit derivative product. Mr. Eisenberg has also represented underwriters, issuers and sponsors of modeled index catastrophe bonds. Mr. Eisenberg has represented sellers and buyers of credit protection in connection with synthetic securitizations of consumer loans, commercial loans and high yield bonds.”

This is an unconscionable conflict of interest given that JPMorgan Chase is receiving $25 billion of taxpayer funds under this bailout and that the program is very likely to be buying the very toxic waste for which Mr. Eisenberg wrote legal opinions and assisted in proliferating.

What most Americans do not understand, because mainstream media rarely explains it, is the incestuous relationship between the U.S. Treasury and this small band of financial marauders who busted the entire financial system with insane levels of leveraged derivative bets.

The bulk of the $125 billion will be dispersed among Uncle Sam’s own brokers, or in street parlance, Primary Dealers. Primary dealers are those financial firms anointed by the Federal Reserve to participate in the Fed’s open market activities and are required to participate to a significant degree in buying up Treasury securities at every Treasury auction. In other words, without these firms, the U.S. Government would have no means of financing its own funding needs.

Treasury, therefore, has an obvious conflict of interest in keeping these firms alive, even when they are the walking dead. Here’s how much of the $125 Billion the Fed’s Primary Dealers will collect: Citigroup, $25 Billion; JPMorgan Chase & Co., $25 Billion; Bank of America and its soon to be acquired brokerage, Merrill Lynch, $25 Billion; Goldman Sachs, $10 Billion; Morgan Stanley, $10 Billion. In other words, of the first $125 billion outlay from the emergency bailout fund, 76% is going to shore up Uncle Sam’s brokers and $300,000 is going to retain one of Wall Street’s favorite law firms.

In 1988 there were 46 primary dealers. That number had shrunk to 30 by 1999. In June 2008 there were 20, in no small part as a result of the mergers facilitated by Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett. In rapid succession since July, three more have disappeared from bad bets: Countrywide Securities (shotgun marriage with Bank of America); Lehman Brothers, bankrupt; Bear, Stearns (shotgun marriage with J.P. Morgan Securities). That currently leaves 17 and that number will drop to 16 when Merrill Lynch is folded into Bank of America. (The rest of the 16 primary dealers that are not getting part of the $125 billion are foreign banks.)

In addition to the repeal of the depression era, investor protection legislation known as the Glass Steagall Act, the removal of credit default swaps from regulation by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, various U.S. Supreme Court decisions upholding Wall Street’s ability to run its own private justice system shrouded in darkness, there was one more key regulatory change that greased the tracks of this train wreck. On January 22, 1992 the Federal Reserve announced that its New York region would “discontinue the ‘dealer surveillance’ now exercised over Primary Dealers through the monitoring of specific Federal Reserve standards and through regular on-site inspection visits by Federal Reserve dealer surveillance staff.”

In other words, as bank consolidation left the country with fewer and fewer Primary Dealers and more and more “too big to fail candidates,” instead of beefing up surveillance, the Federal Reserve amazingly dropped inspections. Who was at the helm of the Federal Reserve when this nutty decision was made: the same man who lobbied for the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act that ushered in the merger of depositor banks with casino investment banks and brokerages; the same man who lobbied for the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 to allow for unregulated derivatives markets. The man, of course, is Alan Greenspan who served a breathtaking 19 years as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. That, by the way, is the approximate number I would assign to how many years it will take to repair the collapse of confidence engendered by his crony wealth transfer system created under the guise of free market capitalism.

Pam Martens worked on Wall Street for 21 years; she has no security position, long or short, in any company mentioned in this article. She writes on public interest issues from New Hampshire.

Addendum:

And the other 1.5 Trilllion ?

Posted: on Oct 22, 2008

-Up to $700 billion to buy assets from struggling institutions. The plan is aimed at sopping up residential and commercial mortgages from financial institutions but gives Treasury broad latitude.

—Up to $50 billion from the Great Depression-era Exchange Stabilization Fund to guarantee principal in money market mutual funds to provide the same confidence that consumers have in federally insured bank deposits.

—The Fed committed to make unspecified discount window loans to financial institutions to finance the purchase of assets from money market funds to aid redemptions.

—At least $10 billion in Treasury direct purchases of mortgage-backed securities in September. In doubling the program on Friday, the Treasury said it may purchase even more in the months ahead.

—Up to $144 billion in additional MBS purchases by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.The Treasury announced they would increase purchases up to the newly expanded investment portfolio limits of $850 billion each. On July 30, the Fannie portfolio stood at $758.1 billion with Freddie’s at $798.2 billion.

—$85 billion loan for AIG, which would give the Federal government a 79.9 percent stake and avoid a bankruptcy filing for the embattled insurer. AIG management will be dismissed.

—At least $87 billion in repayments to JPMorgan Chase [JPM 47.05 --- UNCH (0) ] for providing financing to underpin trades with units of bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers [LEH 0.2151 --- UNCH (0) ]. Paulson said over the weekend he was adamant that public funds not be used to rescue the firm.

—$200 billion for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Treasury will inject up to $100 billion into each institution by purchasing preferred stock to shore up their capital as needed. The deal puts the two housing finance firms under government control.

—$300 billion for the Federal Housing Administration to refinance failing mortgage into new, reduced-principal loans with a federal guarantee, passed as part of a broad housing rescue bill.

—$4 billion in grants to local communities to help them buy and repair homes abandoned due to mortgage foreclosures.

—$29 billion in financing for JPMorgan Chase’s government-brokered buyout of Bear Stearns in March. The Fed agreed to take $30 billion in questionable Bear assets as collateral, making JPMorgan liable for the first $1 billion in losses, while agreeing to shoulder any further losses.

—At least $200 billion of currently outstanding loans to banks issued through the Fed’s Term Auction Facility, which was recently expanded to allow for longer loans of 84 days alongside the previous 28-day credits.

From Bonddad’s Blog … IN SEPTEMBER! How much more tax payer money has been squandered since then only God knows.

Tags: America, Economy

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Oct

America will weep

JFM Crow on October 21st, 2008

If…….

: By Marie Jon

When all is said and done, if Sen. Barack Obama becomes President of the United States, I for one will not be celebrating. I know the real Obama; he is America’s enemy, along with the party which has been bought and paid for by men like George Soros. He and other Socialist/Communist sympathizers hide themselves within the once honorable Democrat Party.

The specter of an Obama administration is foreboding. He is an odious person who wants to throw our country into Socialism. He is not apologetic for the truths he has hidden from us. Obama brings with him far left cronies and policies and seeks to usher in a new era of history hardly befitting an American president no matter what his race, creed or color.

America is on its way to becoming radicalized, infused with the philosophy and thoughts gleaned from Obama’s many anti-American friends. The unrepentant terrorist professor, William Ayers, whose dreams will be fulfilled in an Obama administration, is but one of these. Many of our youth will become foot solders filled with anti-American thoughts. Our public schools and higher learning institutions have become bastions of far left ideology. Patriotism is no longer taught. However, unionized teachers see fit to wear Obama political pins in the classrooms.

Americans had their chance to see Barack Obama up close and personal while viewing him through the media and YouTube sermons featuring Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Rev. Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church. Yet too many chose to ignore these bigoted, despicable anti-American, anti-Semitic people while marching to the polls to vote in the primaries. They have allowed themselves to become “useful idiots,” including Colin Powell

There are few days left to turn from the course toward which America is headed. Our rights as citizens already have been compromised by out-and-out brazen voter fraud, funded partially by Obama’s campaign. Obama has deep ties with ACORN. To this day he lies about his involvement with the organization that is attempting to steal the election. He was also heavily involved with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failures, another connection America fails to recognize.

The Democrats in Congress ignored President Bush’s warnings when he first came into office, and many times thereafter. Bush did not recommend or sanction cooking the books as a way to help lower income citizens to own a home. Yet the media and the Democrat Party have managed to frame this issue and put the blame on the Republican Party and the president. In 2005 Sen. John McCain unsuccessfully tried to pass a bill that would reform these two government entities. The Democrats in Congress killed the bill. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mismanagement is now a global fiscal problem.

If you think Americans are feeling discontentment for their government now, you need to understand what is yet to come. Political dirty dealings will become the norm within a bigger government. The Democrats could very well control the White House and the Congress, and eventually the Supreme Court. No one will be able to stop the far left radicalized Democrats from doing what they will with our country.

Some Americans feel that Obama inspires them, but how, and why? I do not hear people leaving his rallies singing “God bless America.” It is apparent that the far left sees our country as consistently faulty and in desperate need of change. Everything is up for grabs, including social issues that concern embracing the sanctity of life. The fate of Iraq’s democratic freedom is at also stake. Democrats want to pull out of Iraq and not allow our troops come home victorious.

Excerpts from The Bulletin: “The Unmasking Of Socialist, Radical Obama”

“When Sen. Barack Obama isn’t reading from a teleprompter or a script prepared by his handlers, the truth starts coming out…in small doses. That’s what happened with Joe ‘The Plumber’ Wurzelbacher. Joe asked Obama about his plans for raising taxes on small business, and the great one replied, ‘It’s not that I want to punish your success; when you spread the wealth around it is good for everyone.’

“Spreading wealth around is right out of Sen. Obama’s socialist playbook, and is central to his extremist, radical, left wing, liberal, socialist agenda. No, Sen. Obama, spreading wealth is not good for everyone. It may be good for the Democratic Party, which sees its Robin Hood tactics as a way to win votes, as a way to extend the welfare state, as a way to rob Peter to pay Paul, and as a way to follow the failed European model favored by leftists. But spreading wealth around is not good for the American economy. It is just a piece of the constant tax, spend, regulate, and grow government approach of the Democratic Party, which kills jobs, slows the economy, increases the deficit, and punishes and penalizes success. Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy were tax-cutters and proved that’s the way to a stronger economy. Herbert Hoover and Barack Obama are advocates of tax increases and trade restrictions in tough economic times. Hoover gave us the first Great Depression and Sen. Obama may be on the road to producing the second (if, God forbid, he should be elected).

“Sen. Obama’s game-changing gaffe focused light on another sad reality. The sickness of the mainstream media was demonstrated by its reaction to the unmasking of Sen. Obama as a socialist, bent on redistributionist policies that are anathema to the American people. Instead of admitting the gaffe or trying to explain it away, they launched an attack on Joe The Plumber. They discovered that his middle name was Joe, but his first name was Samuel. They discovered he wasn’t a licensed plumber (which he doesn’t have to be to run a plumbing business).

“The Obama spread-the-wealth slip of the tongue also revealed his welfare state mentality and that of the Democratic Party. You can’t make a big chunk of the population subservient to government and to the Democratic Party, without doling out goodies of all sorts, especially cash payments. His tax plan is not aimed at stimulating economic growth, producing more jobs, and bringing prosperity. No it is just another tax and spend welfare scheme. It is a welfare plan, not a tax plan. He robotically repeats he is going to cut income taxes for 95 percent of American workers. That’s an outright fraud and an obvious impossibility, as an estimated 30 or 40 percent don’t even pay income taxes. What he is going to do is send those 30 or 40 percent a welfare check disguised under the more palatable label of an income tax cut.” Full Article

If our course is not changed concerning the move toward a far left presidency, there will soon be gnashing of teeth. Americans will weep for the choices they have made this election year. Sadly, even with only one term of an Obama regime, we will suffer from the damage for many decades.

The following is an astute warning from an anonymous writer:

The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith

2. From spiritual faith to great courage

3. From courage to liberty

4. From liberty to abundance

5. From abundance to complacency

6. From complacency to apathy

7. From apathy to dependence;*It has been suggested that this is where the USA currently finds itself

8. From dependence back into bondage

If the course is not changed concerning the enormous move to embrace a far left presidency, there will soon be gnashing of teeth. Americans will weep for the choices they have made this election year. Sadly, even with only one term of an Obama regime, we will suffer from the damage for many decades.

Tags: America, Christianity, Obama, US Politics

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Limbaugh Responds to Obama