Month: May 2010

A Third of the “Birthers” Approve of Obama Anyway (e.g., are Democrats)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Mind you, this “birth-certificate debacle” was begun by a democrat, and, as some of you know, I am not a follower of this conspiracy theory.

More than a year and half after Barack Obama was elected commander in chief, the governor of Hawaii is now publicly voicing the alleged exact location of Obama’s birth, saying “the president was, in fact, born at Kapi’olani Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii.”

The disclosure is believed to be the first time a state government official has declared the precise place where Obama was born, despite numerous other published claims, including some for a different hospital in Honolulu.

The remark came Sunday night when Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, was interviewed on New York’s WABC Radio by host Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. (The subject was addressed at the 77-minute mark.)

“It’s been an odd situation,” Lingle said, referring to the continuing controversy over the disputed natural-born citizenship of Obama. “This issue kept coming up so much in the campaign, and again I think it’s one of those issues that is simply a distraction from the more critical issues that are facing the country.

“So I had my health director, who is a physician by background, go personally view the birth certificate in the birth records of the Department of Health, and we issued a news release at that time saying that the president was, in fact, born at Kapi’olani Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. And that’s just a fact and yet people continue to call up and e-mail and want to make it an issue and I think it’s again a horrible distraction for the country by those people who continue this.”

Environmentalism | The Superior Religion

Published by Papa Giorgio

I have pointed out (as well as many others) in the past that due to the secular nature of the Left, they still have a yearning for that which God can only satisfy. I also have pointed out the religion of environmentalism is a product of the Left and has many liberal denominations coming on board. Leading the way of course is the emerging movement. For instance, an earlier post (which is a must read: “Feminist Extremism, Eastern Concepts in Youth Specialties and Gaia in Emergence“) I did mentions this pull towards environmentalism when the true nature and deity of God is minimized:

C IS FOR CREATION
  • What modern secularists called “nature” (a term that turned a sacred work of art into a profane source of “raw materials”) and what modern Christians always linked with “versus evolu­tion” (thus turning a sacred mystery into a profane and mis­guided argument).
  • What ancient Christians viewed, along with Holy Scripture, as one of God’s two primary sources of self-revelation.
  • What emerging Christians will cherish as God’s art gallery in which we live and of which we are a part and for which we were created as planetary trustees and caretakers.

Later of course we get to the “action” (the “praxy” if you will) behind the emergent meaning:

… For postmoderns, it’s “Mother Earth,” holy ground tragically portrayed in the words of James Merrill: “Father Time and Mother Earth, A marriage on the rocks.” No wonder the word environment is used less and less; it’s too cold a word for this theology of “holy ground.”There are now over 130,000 religion and ecology projects in operation worldwide. Unfortunately, very few of them are emanating from evangelical churches.

If our humaneness is most manifest in our relationships—with swallows and snails, with friends and enemies, with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the modern world needed mar­riage counseling big-time. The willingness to sacrifice living systems for commerce has meant that the lungs and other vital organs of Mother Earth are being cannibalized to the point where “natural” disasters are no longer “natural” but induced.

The mad weather patterns of the past decade are a byproduct of disappearing forests (at current rates of deforestation, Ecuador will be totally barren of trees in 20 years), disappearing healthy air, and disappearing ecosystems….

This brings me to the NewsBusters article, imported in whole here. It is an example of a growing religious awareness that can easily drive an almost fascistic egalitarianism that will impose it’s will on us through law and those who would “report” to the authorities. Smokers, non-recyclers, SUV drivers, small-businesses, you should all beware:

Daily Kos may be an almost official stop of the Democratic Party — today’s top ad demands you help the Arizona Democrats fight the new immigration law — but it’s certain not a religious website. In fact, last Friday, the blogger “HumeSkeptic” declared that all religions pale in comparison to earth worship:

In so far as all morality is fundamentally based on preservation, betterment and continuation of life, there is no higher morality than environmentalism.

All religions pale in comparison.

Morality, when associated with religion, is limited and parochial.  It is primarily focused on preservation, betterment and continuation of humans, but not all humans, only those following a particular belief system.

Even when it pretends to extend beyond that parochial realm – for example, “Love thy neighbor” and “Thou shalt not kill”, religious morality is limited to human life.

Environmentalism, on the other hand, encompasses preservation, betterment and continuation of all life, and, therefore, is the highest level of morality.

It being the highest morality, it is not a surprise that the vast majority of Republicans oppose and mock environmentalism.

HumeSkeptic can’t see that the limited and parochial worldview might be the one that worships the planet and human life, but seems to reject any notion of an afterlife.

The author points out a key aspect that degrades this religious position rather than raises it: limited and parochial worldview. Hume once said that if he did stand before the Christian God he would ask why enough “evidence” wasn’t given him to believe. What would his question for Gaia be?

Faisal Shahzad… Anti-War Activist, Hated Bush, 9/11

Published by Papa Giorgio

(LINK IN PIC)

Libertarian Republican [now defunct, sadly] on top of some news when others are not:

Naturalized citizen and Islamic Terrorist Bomber Faisal Shahzad opposed the War in Iraq. New reports suggest he held views much in line with leftwing AntiWar activists who fiercely opposed the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are even indications he may have been aligned with the so-called “Truther movement.” A witness told the Associated Press, that Shahzad believed that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks of 9/11. In truth, Hussein harbored top Al Qaeda Terrorist Abu Massad al Zarcawi and hosted two Al Qaeda-linked Terrorist training camps: Salman Pac and Answar Al-Islam….

After some quotes from newspapers, LR says this:

Yes, indeed. Around that time many Americans did not like Bush either: Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan, Al Gore, NetRoots, the Greens, the entire Progressive wing of the Democrat Party, and a host of other AntiWar advocates.

Is it safe now to begin referring to Shahzad as a “Liberal Progressive”?

James White Responds to Liberty University and Christianity Today

Published by Papa Giorgio

I know only of this response by James White because of The Ministry of Reconciliation, and I originally posted on this matter myself in December of 2009 – “BREAKING NEWS (@ Religio-Political At Least) — Ergun Caner, President of Liberty University, Lying?“ Now James White is in the mix… full throttle. So without further dissection, I will let him speak for himself:

A sad day for truth as Christianity Today posts its “story” on the Ergun Caner situation. Very little of the actual documentation (court documents, video tapes, etc.) are discussed. The title makes it look like “bloggers” are just out to cause trouble, not that there are documented, serious issues relating to Caner’s myth-making. The worst part is the utter-disconnect in the comments given by Elmer Towns, described in the article as “co-founder of Liberty University” and Dean of the School of Religion. According to the article, Towns claims “the Liberty board has held an inquiry and directors are satisfied that Caner has done nothing theologically inappropriate.” Lying is theologically appropriate? Creating an entire mythology about your past and your expertise in Islam is theologically appropriate? Then Towns is quoted as saying, “We give faculty a certain amount of theological leverage. The arguments of the bloggers would not stand up in court.” Is myth-making and misrepresentation “theological leverage”? And could someone explain how court documents and video and audio recordings would not stand up in court? What kind of documentation would Dr. Towns like to have, if court documents and video recordings are not enough? Could anything suffice, one wonders?

The final comment offered by Towns should cause any honest hearted person to sit back and ponder: “We don’t see any way that bloggers will damage Liberty,” Towns says. Does Towns have any idea why anyone out here cares about this? Does he really think it is some kind of attack on Liberty? Let’s be straight up front Dr. Towns: your institution now has a massive credibility problem on its hands, and you put it there. Had you done due diligence and followed up on the publicly available documentation that is already out there, already obtainable, and then acted properly in demanding an open and honest explanation by Ergun Caner, you could have kept this a personal issue relating solely to one individual. But now, by failing to do what needs to be done on any simple ground of honesty, you have placed your institution squarely in the defense of documented and obvious falsehood. Yes, it seems you are confused about a non-existent connection between Caner’s comments about Rankin. You further seem confused that this has something to do with Ergun Caner’s synergism and anti-Reformed polemics. If that is so, sir, why wasn’t I looking to raise these issues in 2006 after the Liberty debate debacle? No, none of those assertions are true. This is a simple matter of a man making up a past and using it to gain his position in your institution. You had a chance to right the wrong and bring these issues to light, hoping for Ergun Caner to confess and repent of his falsehoods. But you have chosen the “party line” instead. Dr. Towns, many Muslims are watching, and you have just verified for them that for many in evangelicalism, truth is only important when it is expedient.

Finally, I note the real telling words of the article: “Neither Caner brother responded to interview requests from CT.” Those who honor the truth do not hide in this fashion. The Caners are under obligation to speak the truth. Until they start doing so, they have no business serving those who claim to be followers of Him who is the Truth.

May Day Rioteers – Imagine If These Were Tea Partiers (UPDATED: Brass Knuckles)

Published by Papa Giorgio

GATEWAY PUNDIT has an amazing story of violence:

Immigration Protesters With Brass Knuckles Mace, Beat & Stomp On Counter-Protesters

One of the counter-protesters after his beatdown. (Indymedia)

ABC local reported on the beating:

Three people were attacked and at least two others were arrested. The people assaulted were part of the Minutemen demonstration, a group in favor of Arizona’s new immigration law.

They said a large group of immigrants’ rights supporters followed them to the BART station on Market Street and started punching and kicking them, and calling them names.

“They said we were racists, and we were against them, and against their town, and against San Francisco,” said Parker Wilson with the Bay Area National Anarchists. “What they were saying, they said we need to get out and called us racists, and that we need to go home. And then they just attacked my friends and me.”

The Immigration protesters carried brass knuckles, maced their victims and then stomped on them.

SF Weekly reported:

[….]

[You will not the people protesting sanctuary cities are of all colors — but they are called NAZIs and racists anyways]

[….]

The violence of the Left is their operative norm. Both now and in history.

HOTAIR points out the hypocritical nature of the media and those opposed to the tea parties. There is even video of the “rioters” as they pass by one person who films them. If Tea Party members did what these people did… all hell would break loose on the news networks… instead, silence. Which is yet more proof of media bias

After months of warning that Tea Party protests would erupt into violence, a wave of vandalism and violence crested in Santa Cruz this weekend.  Masked protesters wielding torches swarmed through the business district, smashing windows and chanting “the streets are on fire!” and “Revolution!” It’s exactly the kind of armed uprising that Tea Party critics predicted … except that it didn’t erupt at a Tea Party:

A group of protesters demonstrating at a May Day rally for worker’s and immigrant rights downtown broke off into a riot vandalizing about a dozen businesses around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.

Windows were left shattered and graffiti including anarchy signs were tagged onto buildings. The Rittenhouse Building, Urban Outfitters, Jamba Juice and Velvet Underground all had windows broken, according to Capt. Steve Clark.

Santa Cruz police asked for help from all agencies in the county to break up the riot of about 200 people. At one point, protesters lit a fire on the porch of Caffe Pergolesi and blocked access to firefighters, officers said. Police were able to clear out the demonstrators before more damage was caused.

A large rock sat outside Verizon Wireless on the 100 block of Cooper Street, where vandals tried to break the window twice, according to Clark.

[….]

Update: Bob Owens at Confederate Yankee says it wasn’t just Santa Cruz, either, but also Asheville, NC. The Boss Emeritus finds another in San Francisco. She also finds a Univision reporter participating in a protest he was covering. Will Univision suspend the reporter as KOTA did Shad Olson?