The Obama campaign is now approving sexually suggestive You Tube advertising aimed at 18 year old girls.
That bears repeating. A 51-year-old President is pitching sex to 18 year old girls.
NOTE: Now in 2018 YOU TUBE lists this link as “Video Unavailable.” Somebody figured out this was not a good idea.
Transcript of Obama’s words available at OBAMA CAMPAIGN TO GIRLS
Obama’s ad, “The First Time,” is more straightforward than Putin’s. Young actress Lena Dunham faces the camera and says, “Your first time shouldn’t be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy.”
The Obama campaign might have thought the now-infamous ad would be “cool,” or might attract young women’s votes.
Miscalculation! Attract attention, yes. Votes? No.
Obama has managed to gross America out:
Obama is promoting promiscuity. Parents won’t like that.
Obama is flirting with 18-year-old virgins. He is 33 years older than them. YUK! Obama is double-crossing his wife. Is Michelle loving this?
Obama is scandalizing his daughters. Imagine your father trying to being publicly “sexy?” Double YUK!
With girls almost your age? Triple YUK!
Obama is trivializing democracy and the vote.
Obama is insulting the intelligence of young women.
Obama is betraying his too-close association with Vladimir Putin, reminding us that he will “have more flexibility” after the election.
Who is likely to respond positively to this ad?
Of 132 million voters who voted in 2008, who will find this ad persuasive?
Men? Strike 61 million votes. Mothers? Strike 35 million votes.
Young women?
Strike the serious Christians, the fiscally responsible ladies and all pro-life women.
What does that leave Mr. Obama with? Maybe a handful of promiscuous flakes who have a thing for men almost 3 times their age.
This ad betrays more about Obama than we want to know.
To Obama, women are just a bunch of “lady parts” attached to a very low-I.Q. head, whose vote he thinks he can buy for a few free pills or for a few cheap thrills.
Barack Obama called himself “eye candy” on “The View”
Bad move, Mr. President.
You are grossing the nation out.
Breitbart.com summarizes the Obama campaign- “more interested in binders, Big Bird, birth control, and “bullshi**er” as opposed to exploding gas prices and increased poverty.” .
Now we can add “Perv” to Obama’s list of embarrassing interests.
Early Friday morning, Oct 19th, a young man was beaten by Democrat thugs in Whitewater, Wisconsin. He was beaten because he caught two thugs removing the Romney/Ryan sign in his front yard at 2 AM, and he demanded they return it. After being choked and beaten, he was rescued by a neighbor, who called an ambulance, and the young man was hospitalized with possible skull and eye socket fractures. The young man happened to be Sean Kedzie, son of Wisconsin State Senator Niel Kedzie. A young man who saves lost dogs and shares his bedroll with them.
Sean Kedzie with Mazzy, the dog he saved
This was not reported by the Wisconsin State Journal. Breitbart.com, a national conservative website, reported it first, on Monday, October 22 (caution: graphic photo; Wisconsin Senator’s Son Beaten to a Pulp by Obama Thugs).
As of this morning, the Wisconsin State Journal , or the WSJ Progressive, as I have renamed it, had still not reported it. Around noon today, a short article was published at Madison.com, entitled Police Investigating Attack on Senator’s Son. The article is just 6 lines long, gives little information, and does not mention Democrats or hate crimes. The title and the “article” are designed to help sweep this event under the rug. In Madison, liberal thugs are always protected.
Let us hope that Democrats lose extraordinarily on November 6th!
Wisconsin cannot take this any longer.
The United States cannot take this any longer.
We need civilized people at the helm.
The Democrat party, which used to champion many important social causes in the past, including pro-life positions held by Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, and Al Gore, has in recent years turned into a group of uncivilized radicals who lie, cheat, and fight dirty. They are about to turn the United States into a one party system, because America is
Thug-in-Chief
getting disgusted with their paid union thug tactics, their Alinsky tactics, and their lies. Even President Obama has shown an unprofessional level of petty aggressiveness and lies, particularly in the recent debates.
The Democrat Party is shooting themselves in the foot. I predict an abysmal failure for them in the coming election. America has had it with them. During President Romney’s next two terms, I hope Democrats can purge themselves of union radicals, of progressives, and of pro-aborts, and return to offering a compassionate and civilized alternative to voters in the United States. The Democratic Party needs a major revamping. They have gone over the edge.
Our thoughts, our prayers, and our best wishes are with Sean Kedzie and his family.
A political martyr in Wisconsin.
Who would have believed that?
Of course, few will find out, the way the Wisconsin State Journal handled it.
Let’s see how well the police do in catching the thugs.
The next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally takes place on Saturday, October 20 – just 17 days before the general election. Join us at Rally sites nationwide as we fight to restore religious freedom in the United States!
It’s Not Just For Catholics- Atheists Should Be Worried, Too
Or Why Even Atheists Should Stand Against Presidential Mandates
.
If Presidents of the future will be permitted to issue mandates like the HHS Mandate, without popular vote, without Senate or House vote, and without Supreme Court evaluation, what mandate will the NEXT President of the United States, who may not belong to your favorite political affiliation, decree?
I may not like President Obama’s mandates.
But others, including atheists, would not like President Romney’s mandates
.
Where’s the Rally in Madison?
The Madison, WI rally is on the State Street steps of the State Capitol building in downtown Madison, WI.
Noon on Saturday, October 20, 2012.
During the Farmer’s Market!
Come and join us!
Agnostics welcome.
Atheists welcome.
Baptists welcome.
Buddhists welcome.
Catholics welcome.
Evangelicals welcome.
Jews welcome.
Lutherans welcome.
Muslims welcome.
Presbyterians welcome. All welcome, including any not mentioned above.
Invitation limited to well-behaved people who respect the rights of others.
The Debates:
Getting Past the Theatrics;
Going Right to the Substance
or
It’s Not Fixed
(Addendum below)
First, a Short Word On the Theatrics
The performances so far have been most entertaining.
.
Romney mopped the floor with Obama in the first presidential debate; even the liberal press agreed. Chris Matthews, not too pleased with Obama’s performance, had an epic meltdown, live, on MSNBC.
..
During the vice presidential debate last week, Biden put on a performance that elicited speculations on dementia and drunkenness, as well as a three-minute roast by the usually very liberal Saturday Night Live.
.
No comedy act, however, topped the actual video of the Vice President’s performance:
.
Poised for more mayhem in the second presidential debate last night, I was somewhat relieved to find that a certain degree of sanity was restored.
President Obama no longer looked like a deer in the headlights, and with the exception of one Drudge Report photo, he did not nervously leer, make faces at his opponent or the cameras (much), as Biden had done last week.
Well, Romney isn’t looking; let me just give him a quick evil eye…
.
.
But now back to the substance!
.
.
Cuttting Through the Folly
More important than laughing or wondering at the performances, is to cut through the folly, and to analyze the substance.
And the substance consists of two major components in this election: policy and reliability.
Policy – how do the candidates and their party propose to solve our biggest problems today?
Reliability– will the candidates and their parties actually do what they say they will do, or are the candidates liars?
Policy – What Do Voters Say America Needs?
Yesterday’s MSNBC leading headline read: What readers want answered at the presidential debate: Gas prices, Social Security, jobs.
Translation: Economy is the primary problem facing our nation and concerning our voters today.
Aside: Some Americans, myself included, believe thatabortionis the primary problem/issue facing our nation. That economy is actually dependent upon abortion. That a nation that kills its own children cannot prosper. That no amount of economic prosperity can justify the killing of 54 million human beings. That economic prosperity will not be bestowed on a nation that defies God’s fundamental commandments. But, although correct, that is not the dominating mainstream thought, and is a subject for a future blog article.
Back to Economy, the primary problem readers wanted answered at last night’s presidential debate.
Obama-Biden Economic Policy
The Obama-Biden team proposes to solve economic problems by raising taxes on the rich, in contrast to Ryan and Romney’s plans to solve economic problems by cutting spending, and cutting taxes, in order to create jobs, which would generate an expanding economy, resulting in increased government revenue.
Biden’s statement one week before the October 11th debate outlined and clarified the Obama-Biden position on the economy: .
.
Biden clearly stated their intention to let the trillion dollar “Bush” tax cuts expire, effectively raising $1 Trillion worth of taxes. The tax cuts would only be extended for all households earning less than $250,000 per year, so those households would have no effective tax hike. The $1 Trillion tax would be paid only by people earning $250,000 or more per year.
The Slogan is catchy: $1 Trillion Tax Hike for Top Earners
Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?
We get Scrooge McDuck to fork over all the extra money we want to spend.
But is that possible?
Will it produce enough money to cover Obama’s spending?
How much will we be taking from the “rich guys”?
How will the “rich guys” respond to this maneuver?
Let’s look at some details.
We want to take $1 Trillion from the rich, the top 1.5 %, those who earn over $250,000 per year.
Let’s see how much we have to take from each one, and what that will do to them.
First of all, Biden misled us with his $1 Trillion claim, since his proposal is to raise $1 Trillion of taxes over 4 years, not over 1 year.
That won’t dent Obama’s annual $1.3 Trillion deficit much, but let’s continue with the analysis, because it leads to a surprising place.
For data on how many rich guys there are, and how much money they have, we looked at the Tax Foundation’s Data Tables. They don’t list Obama-Biden’s top 1.5%ers who earn $250,000 per year or more, but they do list the 1%ers, who earn $340,000 per year or more. Close enough for our purposes. The two sets of numbers are not likely to differ too much.
The top 1% group has a combined Adjusted Gross Income of $1.3 Trillion, of which they already pay 24%, or $0.3 Trillion in tax per year. In order to raise another 0.25 Trillion from this group as Biden proposes, they would have to be taxed an additional 19%, almost a doubling of their Federal tax bill. Their federal tax would go up from 24% to 43%.
Jaguar XF ($82,000)
So, the small businessman or doctor who now earns $340,000 per year already pays $82,000 in Federal income tax per year. Yes, that’s right, each small businessman or doctor first gives the federal government the equivalent of a Jaguar XF every year. Add Social Security, Medicare, and State and Local tax deductions, and rich guy’s annual take-home pay becomes about $227,000. Now he has given Uncle Sam about $113,000 per year; a Mercedes SL55AMG every year. (This car can do 155 mph.) On top of this now, the Obama-Biden proposal would raise these people’s federal taxes an additional 19% and would mean an additional $65,000 in taxes for that household. This would bring down their take-home income to $162,000. The total given over to the government would be $178,000 per year; like buying the government an Aston Martin DB9 Volante every year. This household is left with 48% take-home pay of $162,000 per year, after they started with $340,000.
Aston Martin DB9 Volante ($178,000)
This also changes the proportion of taxes that the 1%ers pay. Right now, as a group, they pay 37% of all federal income taxes. Yes, the 1% pays 37% of our bills. The new Obama-Biden proposal would change this to the 1%ers paying 66% of all of America’s federal taxes. WOW!
Doubling a Household’s Federal Income Tax
How many Americans in any income bracket can afford to have their federal taxes doubled and to have their take-home pay reduced to 48%?
Most people earning upwards of $250,000 don’t work 9-to-5 for a boss. Not too many bosses are that generous with salaries. Many of these “rich guys” own a small business and are working long hours. Evenings and weekends. Others are medical doctors, who are running an office and are paying off medical school loans. Whether they are businesses or doctors, they will have to come up with the extra $65,000 Obama and Biden want somewhere. Guess where that will be? They will hire less help at the business or office, and they will cancel any plans of expansion. Their actions will eliminate jobs, and will stifle the economy. The people working under them will lose their jobs.
Biden and Obama’s proposal to hike up taxes by failing to extend expiring tax cuts is often termed Taxmageddon. This plan could push the U.S. back into a recession, and the Taxmageddon expiration date is fast approaching – January 1, 2013, in two months.
Summarizing the Obama-Biden Economic Policy:
Here’s a summary of Obama-Biden’s economic plans :
Obama/Biden will double taxes on the “rich guys” with Taxmageddon. The 1%ers who now already pay 37% of the nation’s federal tax bill will get to pay 66% of the nation’s tax bill.
Another recession? Who cares?
This maneuver will only reduce the deficit by 0.25 Trillion per year (19%)? Who cares?
The national debt, now $16 Trillion, will continue to grow at the rate of $1 Trillion per year? Who cares? Not Obama/Biden.
Despite the ballooning deficit, Obama-Biden will continue spending.
Whenever Romney proposes spending cuts, Obama-Biden will ridicule the solution most households (or nations) in serious debt ought to use – they will ridicule spending cuts.
Obama-Biden will particularly ridicule cutting government funds to Big Bird. No matter that Big Bird is a one-percenter with an annual income of over $50 million per year, about four times higher that what Mitt Romney makes. Yet Big Bird still gets federal subsidies through PBS, and Obama-Biden don’t want to see those cut. Who cares?
Biden-Obama will also ridicule Romney’s plans to cut Planned Parenthood funding. Planned Parenthood continues to make money, despite its status as a nonprofit organization. Planned Parenthood is now a $1 Billion Group which makes a profit from it’s primary income generator, abortion, and which still receives 46% of it’s budget from tax money. 51% of Planned Parenthood’s revenue comes from abortions.
Two thirds of America opposes federal funding of abortion. But who cares? Obama likes abortion, and he loves Planned Parenthood. Why not subsidize more 1%ers, as long as they are Obama’s friends?
Big Bird and Planned Parenthood were 1%ers.
Solyndra and a series of over 20 green energy companies which received $4 Billion in federal grants? All 1%ers.
But they are Obama’s friends, so that’s O.K.
Anyone who supports Obama with donations or in the media is Obama’s friend. He will help them all become 1%ers. And they don’t need to worry about taxation, Obama will make sure his friends obtain or retain tax-exempt status no matter how rich they are, like Big Bird and Planned Parenthood.
Reliability and Honesty
That leads us to reliability and honesty, the second major component of importance in this election.
What good are promised policies, if they are never implemented?
What good are debates, if lies are used in the arguments?
The last two debates, Biden’s and last night Obama’s, were fraught with lies.
Not only Biden and Obama lied, but moderator Crowley lied and manipulated last night.
During the Vice Presidential debate, Joe Biden lied about religious freedom, about Libya, about Medicare, lied about his own voting record for the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war, lied about the Iranian nuclear program, lied about Ryan cutting embassy security budget, lied about his previous debate with Sarah Palin, and lied about the details of the Bush tax cuts. See the above links for details.
Obama lied about tax cuts made by himself, about Romney’s statements in interviews, about Romney’s immigration views, about mammograms provided by Planned Parenthood, about tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas, about oil and gas production on federal lands, about women’s salary discrepancies, about Romney’s intentions toward auto manufacturers, and about his own misrepresentation of the Benghazi attacks as demonstrations against an anti-Islamic video.
Gaffe: Obama claimed that low gas prices cratered our economy and will crater it again if Romney is elected and gets gas prices down.
Yes, you read that right: President Obama seems to believe that low gas prices kill the economy. It’s not Obama’s economic policies that have damaged our economy, it’s the low gas prices that he inherited from Bush that have damaged our economy. And if you elect Romney, he will lower the gas prices again, and he will thus damage the economy again.
How did that come out of the mouth of the President of the United States?
Candy Crowley’s Debate Lies and Biased Manipulations
Debate moderator Candy Crowley interrupted Romney when he accused President Obama of not acknowledging that the Benghazi attacks were acts of terror the day after the Benghazi attacks. She was wrong, admitted she was wrong after the debate, and it turns out that she had been in perfect command of these facts almost 3 weeks ago, but conveniently forgot the facts when jumping to silence Romney during the debate. She saved Obama with a false fact-check:
While moderating Tuesday’s debate, Crowley forgot the timeline and facts she commanded two weeks earlier, and she inexplicably took President Obama’s side when Obama and Romney were arguing about whether Obama referred to the Libya attacks as acts of terror on the day after. – Breitbart.com
There has even been a sugggestion that Candy Crowley may have acted in collusion with Obama in this interchange; the probability that Candy Crowley would have the text of the President’s Rose Garden speech handy and opened to the correct line on such short notice has been questioned.
Candy Crowley also interrupted Romney 28 times during the debate, contrasted with interrupting Obama 9 times, chose 2/3 of the questions to be favorable to Obama, and let Obama have the last word 8 out of 11 times. She also allowed, for the third debate in a row, the Obama/Biden ticket more debate time than the Romney/Ticket received.
Not too surprising for a biased reporter who had just called Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan the “death wish ticket.”
Summarizing the Debates:
Policy
On Policy, Obama-Biden propose to continue the bulk of their present spending. The taxation of the “rich” which they propose will generate inadequate revenue to staunch the fiscal bleed, and will risk a second, larger recession.
Romney-Ryan propose the repeal of ObamaCare and tax cuts to spur the growth of business; when business grows, government tax income grows without increasing taxation.
History has shown repeatedly that reduction of tax rates generates more prosperity, so that a larger chunk of the tax burden is taken on by rich people when you lower rich people’s taxes, because their businesses start to flourish. They not only transact more business, and give the government more taxes, but they also create more jobs. This phenomenon was observed three times in the 20th century, in the 1920’s, and under Presidents JFK in the 1960’s and Reagan in the 1980’s; more tax revenue went back to the federal government each time the taxes were lowered.
The explanation for this seemingly contradictory phenomenon is that rich people reinvest more in their businesses, expand, generate more jobs, keep their businesses in the US, and thus generate a more thriving, larger economy when you lower taxes on the rich. Taking a smaller percentage from a larger number of rich guys give you more money in the end.
This is why nations do not overtax the rich. Overtax the rich, and they either go away or they close their companies and the nation loses jobs.
Apparently, United States top earners already pay a larger share of taxes than any other industrialized nation. America’s top 10% earners pay 45% of the nation’s tax bill. President Obama apparently wants to hike up the amount that our top earners will pay to something on the order of 66%.
Any logical person must either challenge President Obama’s grasp of fundamental economics and arithmetic, or must challenge his dedication to his sworn duty to protect this nation as President of the United States. This has been suggested by some; 2016: The Movie points out the compatibility of President Obama’s actions during the past four years with an anti-colonialist philosophy that seeks to level the global playing field and to take away America’s economic advantage. But either way, one cannot rationally, based on economy, vote for Obama on Novemer 6th.
So take your pick: would you prefer that your job depends on “rich” people like small businesses or doctors hiring you and paying a competitive rate for your work, or would you rather have the government take the “rich” people’s money, squander much of it on creating 1%er jobs for previous campaign donors, and dole the rest out to you through meager welfare checks, which expire and no longer regard you as unemployed after 26 weeks, as Obama is doing now?
Reliance on our rich people for jobs = democracy.
Reliance on the government for jobs = communism.
Reliability and Trust
Neither Obama, nor Biden have given America any reason to believe anything they promise. Few of their 2008 campaign promises have been fulfilled, and their debates are laced with lies and fallacious attacks on Romney/Ryan, rather than a focus on a serious plan for repairing the economy.
.
Sorry fellas, the Taxing the Rich slogan won’t work. We just disproved it with arithmetic, and Obama has disproved it in practice during the last four years. The Taxing the Rich slogan will only get you votes from those who don’t know their arithmetic, and who are bitter, envious, and who want to bite the hand that feeds them.
.
.
Results Not Too Surprising
In the light of all that has been discussed, it is not surprising that as the debates progress, Romney is beginning to beat Obama in the polls.
.
And speaking of polls, and speaking as a person who has hung up the telephone on at least 40 pollsters during the last few months, and who as a conservative, in Clint Eastwood’s words, “plays it closer to the vest,” and as someone who has previously blogged about the disparity between poll results and election results, particularly in the Walker Recall Re-Election, I would not be surprised if President Obama is ousted by a landslide less than 3 weeks from now, by a much larger margin than any poll ever shows. Conservatives often refrain from participating in polls.
How sadly right Clint Eastwood was about the empty chair!
“When someone does not do their job, we have to let them go.”
Addendum:
Confirming my suspicions, later today, two pieces of news came out:
President Clinton, during a campaign event in Ohio today, acknowledged that the economy is not fixed:
Governor Romney’s argument is “We’re not fixed, so fire him, and put me in.” It is true, we’re not fixed. When President Obama looked into the eyes of that man, who said, in the debate, “I had so much hope four years ago, and I don’t now,” I though he was going to cry. Because he knows that it’s not fixed. – Bill Clinton
But now, two new, major and historical national downgrades have just arrived.
Two New Downgrades
We’ve hardly recovered from the August news from Standard and Poor’s that our national credit rating has been reduced for the first time in United States history.
For those interested in the details of America’s report-card downgrades, more data is shown below.
But first, let’s discuss the religious freedom downgrade itself, together with it’s implications.
.
Restrictions on Religion; So What?
.
Restriction or elimination of religion may seem harmless to some.
Some might even fall for the argument that forbidding all public expression of religion might be a kind and tolerant policy to employ. We would hate to offend the sensibilities of those who don’t believe in God, wouldn’t we?
But such arguments, promoted primarily by a miniscule minority of “progressives” like the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), are shortsighted, misleading and fallacious. Such arguments promote the elimination of morality and of ethics from government altogether, the banning of conscience from the voting booth, and the restriction of fairness and justice to private life.
Such arguments fail to acknowledge that Thou Shalt Not Kill, Steal, Lie… are essential elements of law and order, that chaos would reign if the Ten Commandments were eliminated from our codes of law, and that banning the public mention of religion actually promotes atheism, a religious belief system held by a very small minority of Americans.
Government cannot promote and enforce atheism any more validly than it can promote or enforce any other belief system. Most atheists understand this, and offer no opposition to the public expression of religion by the majority of Americans, who are religious. However, fringe radicals who want to eradicate all mention of religion from American life argue semantics; they claim that technically speaking atheism is not a religion, and that it is valid for government to enforce absence of religion rather than freedom of religion. They are desperate to prove that their minority belief is superior to Judeo-Christian majority belief.
The Power of Religion
Religions have historically been the primary source for moral codes governing and limiting the conduct of human affairs.
The existence of an inviolable moral code places limits on the actions in which all, including the powerful, can engage.
There is a reason why countless despots in history have worked hard to eliminate the influence of religion in their governments; religion challenges not only the humble, but also the powerful, to comply with codes of ethics such as the Ten Commandments.
Roman Emperors were considered to be Gods. and were unfettered by a higher power. This system which assigned ultimate authority to a man instead of to an established system of ethics, spawned monsters like Caligula and Nero, who used, shocked, and terrorized their subjects through unlimited abuses of power.
Even relatively benign rulers like Henry VIII illustrate the value of the restrictions that religious ethics place on government. Henry VIII is an example of a King who placed himself over the ethics dictated by the Ten Commandments, who denounced the authority of the Church, and declared himself head of the Church, because he wished to discard an infertile wife. As a result, Henry VIII bequeathed one of the first divisions in Christendom, as well as centuries of divorce and of broken homes to his nation and to the world.
The Marxist Soviet Union worked hard to eliminate religion from any public role in life, so that dictators would be free of moral constraints, to do as they wished unchallenged. Unfettered by Christian principles, the atrocities perpetrated by the Soviet Union include the genocides and repressions executed by Stalin, Lenin, and subsequent Soviet leaders. My grandparents and uncle are included in those deported to Siberia by this regime without any justification.
President Obama, also seemingly benign, is the first U.S. President to celebrate “unbelievers” publicly. He is also the first U.S. President to violate religious freedom in the United States with unilateral mandates, which he issues without a popular vote, without the scrutiny of Congress or the Senate, nor of the Supreme Court. President Obama has managed to promote himself not only above the laws of Christianity on which this nation is based, but also above democracy, which, incidentally, is also based on religion; on inalienable rights endowed on us by our Creator.
President Obama unilaterally promotes abortion, homosexual marriage, and taxation without representation, without input from the nation. Even the minority which approves President Obama’s mandates is shortsighted, not realizing that the power Obama is trying to establish through autocratic mandates will be used against them by a next President who might not be of their choosing.
Religion provides not only a fixed inviolable code of ethics, which apply equally to government and to the governed, but religion also provides a mechanism for giving the man in the street power. Yes, contrary to what despots like Lenin or Marx would have us think (“Religion is the opiate of the people”), religion is actually the only mechanism that provides power to the people, power against which no government can win. History has shown us many men who, backed by God, stood against incredible odds and won.
Citizens, with the help of God (about whom they learn through religion), can judge the actions of government, can organize, can resist, and can even find the courage to die for the principles in which they believe. Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty, or give me death” was not an empty phrase, but was a very sincere and powerful statement, epitomizing the spirit of the American people.Over two hundred years have passed, but the spirit of the American people, as well as their love for God, remain.
Despots fear religion, because religion is the only tool that gives unarmed masses the moral authority, the courage and the power to resist autocratic regimes.
Incidentally, the “secret weapon” which allowed Mitt Romney to trample Barack Obama during last week’s Presidential debate, is the moral authority and the courage in which Mitt Romney represented the people of America.
Obama and Neutralizing Religion
Whether intentional or not, President Obama is firmly set on a course that would annihilate the power of religion in the United States.
Obama’s HHS Mandate, if not reversed, will impose penalties on all Catholic institutions, penalties which will bankrupt all Catholic institutions within two years.
Catholics, 25% of America, will no longer be able to operate hospitals, schools, or businesses of any kind, because they cannot ethically provide abortifacients to their employees. Catholics will also be unable to be nurses, pharmacists or doctors, as abortion-related mandates eliminate all Christians from employment in medical professions.
Obama’s autocratic insertion of abortion into ObamaCare via the HHS Mandate, in violation of his own Executive order and promise to Bart Stupak and his 11 Democrats, will force the federal funding of abortion on America, something that 2/3 of America opposes. In Bart Stupak’s own words, Barak Obama is the “most pro-abortion President ever,” against the wishes of two thirds of America.
Obama’s initial attacks seem focused primarily on Catholics; Obama views Catholic teaching on contraception an Achilles heel, an area where his attack on the authority of conscience and of religion may have some success. The ethical problems posed by contraception are something that most Americans have not studied, and on which most Americans are not likely to support the Catholic Church.
If the strike at this Achilles heel were to be successful, however, the precedent will have been established which allows further violation of religious conscience rights by government mandate, permitting Obama (and all subsequent Presidents) to rise above the consciences of all Americans, above all religious teachings, and above the will of the people.
Most religious leaders know this, and have joined in supporting the Catholic Chruch against the HHS or Trojan Horse Mandate.
If You Don’t Want Further Downgrades
Bottom Line:
The Religious Freedom downgrade is serious.
The Religious Freedom downgrade is likely to get much worse if President Obama is reelected and if ObamaCare and the HHS Mandate are not overturned.
Flunking religion is actually related to flunking all the other subjects: credit rating, economy, reproductive health, health care quality, education, unemployment, quality of family life, crime rate and drug arrests. All of these are affected by our commitment to ethics and to justice.
.Whether President Obama’s trampling of the religious freedom of Americans is unintentional or purposeful, it must be reversed if this nation is to prosper.
If you want to repair the American Report Card, vote for Romney/Ryan, who will reorient this nation toward those Judeo-Christian values which are still codified in our laws and on which most of us still agree: life, liberty, property, responsibility, fairness, truth, and the rule of democracy.
Some Claim That President Obama Wants Us to Flunk
There are documented and credible claims, based on President Obama’s autobiography and on an analysis of his history that Barak Obama subscribes to an anti-colonialist philosophy.
Anti-colonialism vilifies the United States as a nation which exploits other nations unfairly, and which must be taken down a peg to equalize global opportunity for other nations. Anti-colonialism does not acknowledge that hard work and ethical values got the US to where we are today, and that the same opportunity is available to other nations. The philosophy assumes that there is a fixed amount of prosperity in the world, and that in order for other nations to prosper, the United States must be demoted.
The philosophy is flawed, just as the claim that my building of a
ENVY
great log cabin or learning of a new language prevents my neighbor from building a great log cabin or learning a new language, is flawed.
These claims about Barack Obama are documented by Dinesh D’Souza in his film 2016: Obama’s America. The film, stating about Obama “LOVE HIM, HATE HIM, YOU DON’T KNOW HIM,” has become the highest grossing documentary in 2012, grossing over $30 million, and surpassing Michael Moore’s Sicko, Bowling for Columbine, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Despite the obvious box office success of this movie, the mainstream media, supporters of Obama, have virtually ignored the movie. The movie is still playing in numerous theaters, and continues to attract both supporters and critics of Barack Obama.
If we have an anti-colonialist President at the helm as the movie 2016 claims, our report card will continue to degenerate even more rapidly; not surprisingly, if that is the goal of the Commander in Chief. A suicide-bomber who intentionally crashes an entire nation out of envy and resentment. Particulary ironic, for a man who has benefited so much personally from the opportunities in America and who quite obviously enjoys the luxuries that can be acquired here.
More Details – Where Exactly are We Slipping?
Let’s take a look at the major areas in which our national report card has been slipping. We start with more detail on the two most recent downgrades, this year, following the impact of President Obama’s first term:
the first downgrade ever in credit rating
and
the first downgrade ever in religious freedom.
Grading Our Credit Status- First Downgrade in History
The US credit rating got downgraded for the first time in history on August 5, 2011, immediately after Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling in the Budget Control Act on August 2, 2011.
This downgrade was the result of President Obama’s “stimulus” spending, in which he singlehandedly increased the total previous national debt by 51%, in less than 4 years, more than doubling the spending rate of any President, including his predecessor Bush.
A continuation of President Obama’s proposed budget would bring the national debt to $25 trillion in ten years.
.
This is why conservatives like Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan are desperate to reverse US spending, and to stop the accumulation of debt.
.
.
Grading on Religion
Next, we examine the Pew Research evaluation of restriction of religious freedom exercised by governments.
Pew Research is a nonpartisan fact tank that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The center conducts public opinion polling, demographic studies, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. It does not take positions on policy issues.
Religious Freedom Grades- First Downgrade in History
Now, under President Obama, for the first time in history, the U.S. just got a downgrade in religious freedom this week.
We are no longer among the freest nations on earth when it comes to religion.
Moreover, this downgrade in religious freedom is only the beginning of potential future downgrades, since it only reflects President Obama’s policies through mid 2010, prior to his issuance of the HHS Mandate in 2011. The HHS Mandate violates religious freedom further, is opposed by 2/3 of America, and is likely to damage US religious freedom scores even more.
The United States, the nation founded to establish religious freedom for those fleeing religious persecution in Europe, has just been downgraded on religious freedom, and now lags behind many developing nations, and behind previous Soviet satellites such as Lithuania, in governmental tolerance of religion.
How Big Is the Downgrade?
Pew Research grades the nations of the world from 0 to 10 with Government Restriction Index (GRI) Scores:
The change is considered significant, represents almost a doubling in the level of religious restriction in our country, and shifts the United States from the Low Religious Restriction into the Moderate Religious Restriction category.
.
How Do We Compare With Other Nations on Religious Freedom?
Following the first half of Barack Obama’s term of office, we abruptly joined 16 countries whose scores increased by more than one point in one year, indicating a measurable increase in Governmental hostility to religion. We can probably expect a further downgrade when President Obama’s HHS Mandate of 2011 is included in future scores, and when the obligatory abortion provisions of ObamaCare kick in.
Now Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and 91 additional countries have better religious freedom scores than we do, and we have joined the Moderate Religious Restriction category with Cambodia, Lebanon, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Will we be classified with Pakistan, Libya and Iraq in the Very High Religious Restriction category next year, when the HHS Mandate has imposed crippling tax penalties on all Catholic and Evangelical employers?
Level of Governmental Restriction
Government Restrictions Index Score
Examples
Very High
6.6 to 10.0
Russia, China
High
4.5 to 6.5
Pakistan, Libya, Iraq
Moderate
2.4 to 4.4
United States, Cambodia, Germany, Lebanon, Thailand, United Arab Emirates
Low
0.0 to 2.3
South Africa, Canada, Sweden
Where Else Are We Failing, as a Nation?
Economy:
Along with our Credit rating downgrade comes an economy downgrade.
Before the Obama administrations recent attempts to redefine reproductive health, reproductive health used to be measured by infant mortality. The lower infant mortality, the better a nation’s “reproductive health” rating.
Now, it seems that the Obama administration, after issuing Executive Orders promising to exclude abortion from ObamaCare, has reversed itself. Now Obama insists that abortion, sterilization and contraception free of charge be rights guaranteed to all women, and includes these services in ObamaCare, via the HHS Mandate.
As abortion, contraception and screening and treatment for STDs are added to the expanding list of “reproductive rights” now guaranteed for the first time to be free of cost by the Obama administration, the birth and health of newborn infants continues to be de-prioritized, and the decline of our infant mortality in the United States has not kept pace with declines in other countries.
A nation that kills its own children cannot prosper.
Health Care:
Our United States healthcare system, once among the best in the world, has fallen to #37 world-wide.
What Do You Do When You’re on the Verge of Flunking?
How Do You Pull Up Your Grades in the Last Quarter?
You buckle down, and figure out that school is not a place for meeting friends, hanging out, eating candy and mocking teachers.
You decide where you want to go, how much time you have, who can help you, and what the essentials are.
Do your work.
Stop making excuses.
Be responsible.
Do extra work.
Develop a better work ethic.
Pray.
Resolve to develop some new habits.
Focus in class.
Attend class.
Don’t fool around.
Don’t slack.
Follow the rules.
Respect your teacher and respect the students who are successful; ask them for help.
Stop complaining, and start working.
The Same Advice Works for a Nation:
Find a guy who is responsible and successful, and listen to what he says.
It worked for Wisconsin with Scott Walker.
It can work for the US with Romney/Ryan.
Vote Romney/Ryan on November 6th,
like your life depended on it. ( It does.)
Twenty American Embassies Under Attack September 20th. Media: Not a Problem
or
The Audacity of Corruption
or
Media: Enemy of the American People
Pat Caddell
.
Below are some excerpts from Pat Caddell’s speech at the Accuracy in Media Conference, 9/21/12, in which he claims that the media have made themselves the enemy of the American people.
Pat Caddell is a former Democratic pollster who worked for the campaigns of McGovern, Carter and Biden. He is the founder of Cambridge Survey Research, and a world-renowned expert in analyzing public opinion.
For Pat Caddell’s entire speech, see links below; You Tube video and transcribed text links provided at conclusion of this post.
Excerpts from Pat Caddell’s speech at the Accuracy in Media Conference:
I think we’re at the most dangerous time in our political history in terms of the balance of power in the role that the media plays in whether or not we maintain a free democracy or not…
Twenty American embassies, yesterday (9/20/12), were under attack. None of that is on the national news. None of it is being pressed in the papers…
Sixty percent or 80%—it’s closer to 80% I think, now—of the money given under the stimulus to green energy projects—the president and this administration’s great project—has gone to people who are either bundlers or major contributors to Barack Obama.
But nobody says a word.
Of course Republicans don’t raise it because in Washington, they simply want to do it when they get back in power. And, of course, the press doesn’t because they basically have taken themselves out of doing their job….
It is one thing to bias the news, or have a biased view. It is another thing to specifically decide that you will not tell the American people information they have a right to know…
The President of Egypt, we find out now, that his whole agenda has been getting the “Blind Sheikh” [Omar Abdel-Rahman], who’s responsible for the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993, out of jail. Prison. I’ve been told specifically, by a member of the intelligence community that the White House and State Department are negotiating that now…
Puppet Media
But no press person has investigated this, just as no press person will go and ask the most obvious questions, when there are really good stories here, good media stories, and good news stories. They are in the tank and this is a frightening thing…
Another example has been the polling… it’s very complicated. Some of it is error, some of it is miscalculation, but some of it is deliberate, in my opinion—to pump up the numbers using the 2008 base to give a sense of momentum to the Obama campaign… polls that have the preference of Democrats over Republicans higher than it was in 2008, which was a peak Democratic year, are polls that shouldn’t be reported…
60% of the American people are in on the secret here—I mean, they’re no idiots—yet Republicans and those candidates who are not the candidates of the press refuse to call them out… too many political people in the Republican Party in this town want to maintain their relationships with the press…
The fundamental danger is this: I talked about the defense of the First Amendment. The press’s job is to stand in the ramparts and protect the liberty and freedom of all of us from a government and from organized governmental power. When they desert those ramparts and decide that they will now become active participants, that their job is not simply to tell you who you may vote for, and who you may not, but, worse—and this is the danger of the last two weeks—what truth that you may know, as an American, and what truth you are not allowed to know, they have, then, made themselves a fundamental threat to the democracy, and, in my opinion, made themselves the enemy of the American people.
And it is a threat to the very future of this country if we allow this stuff to go on. We have crossed a whole new and frightening slide on the slippery slope this last two weeks, and it needs to be talked about.
.
You Tube of Pat Caddell’s speech:
.
.
Transcribed text of Pat Caddell’s speech: (click here)
One of the prime goals of this cultural values blog is to defend my religion, Catholicism, against the regrettably frequent and unjust attacks we suffer, particularly in Madison, WI.
One of this blog’s first blog categories was “Don’t Diss My Church.”
And in Madison, the Wisconsin State Journal has provided more than it’s fair share of imbalanced reporting on Catholics, frequently fueling my blog.
Why Pray the Rosary at Madison’s Capitol Square?
Catholics praying the rosary at Capitol Rosary Rally
Now that the Obama administration has embarked on restricting the religious freedom of Catholics, Madison Catholics have begun praying the rosary on Thursday evenings on the Madison Capitol steps, to beg God’s help in the restoration of religious freedom to our nation.
Madison’s Rosary Rally gatherings attract 150-300 quiet, polite people each week. The crowd includes families with small children, young singles, and many grandparents as well. The Catholics gather quietly after business hours, do not disrupt Capitol business, leave no litter behind, do no shouting, carry no vuvuzelas, whistles or drums, and don’t even carry signs. They come, they pray for our nation, and they leave quietly, leaving no damage in their wake.
Who Heckles Children Praying the Rosary?
About 3 to 10 ne’er-do-wells have started showing up at these rosary events, attempting to disrupt them. Their tactics include shouting four letter words from across the street, mocking the rosary, carrying rude signs mentioning private body parts, and all the usual aggressive radical left tactics Wisconsin has witnessed at recent teacher union protests, and at Madison Pro-Life rallies (which radicals have routinely tried to disrupt in recent years, and where they have even been known to get up in pulpits at Library Mall and perform strip-tease dances in front of children with literally only God knows what motivation).
Teacher union protest tactics:
.
Is the Wisconsin State Journal Heckling the Rosary?
So, Doug Erickson, the “religion” reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal (WSJ), instead of covering the story from the perspective of the hundreds of Catholics participating in the Capitol Rosary Rally who represent one quarter of America, covered the story instead from the perspective of the handful of rude hecklers.
Catholics Pray for Restoration of Religious Freedom
Families Pray for the Coming Election
Family Values Defended in Public Prayer
Prayer Brought to Madison’s Downtown Capitol
New Peaceful Standard Set for Disagreeing With Government
Prayer and Civility Replaces Anger and Rage at Madison’s Capitol
Contrasting Teacher Union Protests and Capitol Rosary in Madison
I have participated in many of the Rallies, and I can attest to the fact that Doug Erickson’s implication that Rosary Rallies are “pep-fests” could not be further from the truth.
WSJ Rosary Rally Article- Thinly Disguised Radical Dem Propaganda
Thinly Disguised Radical Dem Propaganda Headline
The Wisconsin State Journal’s misleading headline was amplified by a factor of 118,000 through its State-wide circulation, and the whole of Wisconsin was misinformed. Not to mention online readers, or readers of spin-off articles such as those at the LaCrosse Tribune, Yahoo News or the Orlando Sentinel.
Here’s a You Tube showing the Capitol lunch protesters with whom Craig Spaulding participated frequently and which forced Capitol Tour Guides to wear ear plugs; the group whose perspective the Wisconsin State Journal favors over the perspective of Catholics praying the Rosary at the Capitol:
.
Second Rosary Critic
Annie Laurie Gaylor of FFRF at Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally, Madison, W
Second Rosary Critic
Another individual quoted by the WSJ article is one of the co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), Annie Laurie Gaylor, who personally protested at the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally last June 8th, and who made no objections while her husband and co-President of FFRF Dan Barker repeatedly heckled praying children and scandalized them by shouting sexually suggestive remarks addressed to the children.
Dan Barker (FFRF) at Madison’s Freedom From Religion Rally; and what was Dan Barker doing? Shouting rude things at children.
Annie Laurie Gaylor and FFRF are in a minority not only because they are atheists, but particularly because they are a miniscule minority among atheists themselves. They constitute only 0.1 of 1% of atheists, or one out of a thousand atheists. That’s right, 999 out of 1,000 atheists, unlike Gaylor and FFRF, are tolerant of 80% Christian America, of 25% Catholic America, and have no problem with our legally established American right to public prayer which President Obama periodically exercises. Gaylor and her FFRF, whom the Wisconsin State Journal chose to quote in this article, constitute the angry radical fringe, which represents only one out of 33 thousand people, or 0.003 of 1% of the population of America.
Third Rosary Heckler
Another Rosary heckler (not mentioned by the Wisconsin State Journal article) made herself known to me when her braggadocio arrived in my inbox, through an online discussion in which I had participated. She belatedly joined a discussion which I had previously viewed as a reasonable and constructive conversation with a Madison LGBT activist, and which started when I objected to the activist’s treatment of the first Capitol Rosary Rally and of Bishop Morlino on his blog.
Aside:Since that time, the LGBT activist has begun censoring comments published on his blog, selecting supportive radical comments for publication, and declining to publish further discussion with me. I guess there are limits to the “Bluebird’s” willingness to discuss truth, after all, particularly when he and his friends start losing the argument. Turns out, he’s also a regular at the Lunchtime Solidarity Singers at the Capitol, who drive tour guides to wear ear protection.
Back to the third Rosary heckler: her name is Genie Ogden. Genie bragged in the online discussion that she heckles the Rosary Rally weekly, boos, and sings “Solidarity Forever” at Catholics who are singing hymns. Genie, like Craig Spaulding, was also a regular member of the Capitol lunchtime “Sing-a-Longs,” the fringe minority who continues to make noise at the Madison Capitol at lunchtime, despite Governor Walker’s re-election by an even larger majority in Wisconsin than he enjoyed in his first election.
Perhaps Genie is looking for new outlets for her anger, now that the recall is over. The You Tube of “Solidarity” protesters (to which Craig and Genie belonged, the noise of which drove people to wear ear protection) was presented above.
Schoenstatt Sister after the first Capitol Rosary Rally
Do these rosary hecklers/solidarity singers really believe that such actions would be persuasive and would bolster their cause?
.
Genie, like Doug Spaulding and FFRF, tried to claim that the Rosary Rallies are political, and that they constitute a violation of separation of Church and State. What she does not seem to realize is that neither she, nor other liberals, can divine the thoughts of others, and that the mention of Governor Walker and of Paul Ryan once in the course of thirteen Rosary Rallies, in the context of being answers to prayers, reflects a pro-life, not a Republican position. Democrat Stupak and his 11 Democrat supporters were an equal blessing and an equal answer to prayer when they stood up for the exclusion of abortion from ObamaCare. The pro-life beliefs of Catholics are not political; they are ethical.
.Rosary Hecklers in General
The Rosary Hecklers and critics above exhibit a bigoted and tyrannical attitude, denying to others the rights that the hecklers enjoy themselves.
Madison Teacher’s Union Protesters
Solidarity union activists like Craig and Genie, and LGBT activists like the Bluebird, reserve the right to use Madison’s Capitol Square for themselves to promote their own (minority) views and social agendas, but they seem to miss the hypocrisy in denying the use of the Capitol Square to praying Christians, who represent many more people than they do- a fact ignored by WSJ reporters.
The feeble attempts made by Craig, Annie and Genie to label Rosary Rallies events as political
Progressives Misjudging Catholics?
also reflects a judgmental attitude; they claim to know the motivation of others. After misjudging their target’s motivation, many “progressives” continue by attacking and violating the rights of those with whom they disagree. The Constitution does not guarantee a Right to Hateful Harassment. Moreover, the effectiveness of such tactics in promoting one’s cause are highly dubious.
I am proud to say that I have never gone to any Madison Capitol Square event to boo, heckle, curse, scream, disrupt or to counter-protest. I don’t engage in hateful behavior towards those with whom I disagree. Prayer is a much more civilized (and more productive) response. My sentiments are representative of those of Rosary Rally attendees.
Ignoring Two Thirds of America
Doug Erickson missed the boat completely by covering the Rosary Rally story from the perspective of a few radical protesters, and by omitting the concerns of two thirds of America.
The Rosary Rallies actually represent the majority of Wisconsin and of America.
The Catholics at the Rally represent all religions in America, which were recently galvanized and united by the religious freedom violations of the HHS Mandate. Numerous religions joined Catholics in opposing these violations of the First Amendment, an amendment which all religions value. Orthodox Christian Bishops, Protestant Theological Seminary chancellors, Presbyterian Bishops, Southern Baptists, Lutherans Evangelical Lutherans and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America have rallied to support the Catholic Church in upholding the Catholic position on the HHS mandate. This is what Doug Erickson has failed to cover in his reporting.
The Rosary Rallies are large, peaceful, sustained, and they represent the reasonable Judeo-Christian views and the civilized demeanor of at least two thirds of America.
Numerous religions, including Baptists, Evangelicals and Jews, support the Catholic position in Stand Up for Religious Freedom, the program which gave birth to this Rosary Rally.
In ignoring the perspective of Catholics at the Rosary Rally in favor of the perspective of a couple fringe radicals, Doug Erickson has ignored 2/3 of America. He has ignored the majority of America’s opposition to federally funded abortion policy, and he has ignored the social consequences of such abortion policy, which has already resulted in shocking coerced abortion rates of 64% . Abortion is a much bigger deal than most people think .
Ignoring Religious Leaders:
Evangelical Pastors Join Catholics in the Defense of Religious Liberty
The national Religious Liberty debate has been ignored by WSJ, in favor of reporting speculations by a couple of “progressives” on the motivations of Catholics at prayer.
“THIS AREA HAS BEEN SET ASIDE FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS TO EXERCISE THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL 1ST AMENDMENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS.”
Evangelical Christian pastors have just organized a bold and courageous protest against the muzzling of moral leaders in America, and in support of religious freedom. On October 7, 2012, “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” will be celebrated. More than 1,000 pastors will preach sermons from the pulpit talking about the candidates running for office and then making a specific recommendation. The sermons will be recorded and sent to the IRS. The pastors expect the IRS to try to enforce a 1954 IRS tax code amendment forbidding tax-exempt organizations from participating in discussion of candidates for public office. When the IRS tries to revoke tax-exempt status and to impose an excise tax on them, the pastors will welcome the court battle. They claim that the 1954 IRS tax code amendment is blatantly unconstitutional, and they welcome an official evaluation of the amendment in court.
This effort is sponsored by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal ministry formed 18 years ago for the defense of religious freedom through strategy, training, funding and litigation.
Not the First Time WSJ Has Slanted the News
Slanted reporting in the Wisconsin State Journal is not new, nor surprising. Their coverage of the 2011 Teacher’s Union Protests was equally misleading and predisposed toward the “progressive” viewpoint. Lawlessness and misconduct was not reported, both on the part of demonstrators who trashed the Capitol, and on the part of Democrat officials who conspired to block the legal process. WSJ coverage was so slanted and misleading, that this blogger took to reporting what’s really happening in Wisconsin on my blog.
The WSJ also gives the tiny Freedom From Religion Foundation quite a bit of favorable press. Again, a fringe radical group (0.003 of 1% of Americans) gets favored coverage over mainstream Wisconsin.
Twisting and Misrepresenting Catholicism
Coverage of Catholicism in the WSJ has frequently been unprofessionally imbalanced.
Just this week, Doug Erickson did a “moral analysis” of the Catholic vote.
He gave equal weight and space to dissident national co-chairman of Catholics for Obama, as he did to Bishop Morlino of Madison, who is a legitimate and accurate representative of the Catholic Church.
So in Doug Erickson’s world, barakobama.com, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and a couple thousand petition signatories carry the same moral authority as a Catholic Bishop and 78 million real American Catholics. Doug is equating the fringe 0.06 of 1% of Catholics whose theology is steered by Obama, with legitimate Catholic officials and faithful Catholics. (Bishop Morlino’s education includes a doctorate in Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, with specialization in fundamental moral theology and bioethics.)
Doug Erickson: Reporting on the 0.06 of 1% of Madison Diocese Catholics (Holy Wisdom) – and relegating the 99.94% (real) Catholics to the last paragraph, entitled “detractors.”
Another Doug Erickson report focused on pair of previously Catholic nuns at Holy Wisdom Monastery, who appear to be recruiting Catholics to join their feminist Sunday services in place of attending the Mass. These nuns retain the name Benedictines, despite having rescinded their Benedictine vows and having separated themselves from the Catholic Church. Doug Erickson reported on this fringe minority group of two very favorably, but relegated input from real Catholics, including from the Diocese of Madison, to a last paragraph entitled “detractors,” where he quoted Catholics minimally, and out of context. A minority of two dissidents was portrayed in a favored light, while real Catholics were again downplayed.
The misrepresentation of Catholics in the Wisconsin State Journal could fill numerous blog posts (and has in the past), but the above three examples will suffice here.
For a Truthful Report on the Capitol Rosary Rally: see You Tube
The Capitol Rosary Rally, which the Wisconsin State Journal did not bother to portray accurately, and which reflects the Christian views and the civilized demeanor of the majority of Christian America can be seen here:
Come join Catholics in the 14th Capitol Rosary Rally tonight, Thursday, Sept 20, 2012, at the State Street steps of the Madison Capitol at 7 PM. Come watch what real Americans do (they act civilized and pray), stand in solidarity with Christians for religious freedom in America. All are welcome to watch, to listen, or to pray.
Discussing the Actual Issue
Something else Doug Erickson failed to do in his Capitol Rosary article was to discuss the question that his progressive friends raised; is it legal for Catholics to pray the rosary at Madison’s Capitol Square?
So public prayer is legal, and public gatherings at the Wisconsin State Capitol are legal.
Public gatherings at Madison’s Capitol have included Farmer’s Markets, restaurant showcase events (Taste of Madison), and Wisconsin Capitol Pride, an event promoting LGBTQA acceptance and rights.
Why would Catholic gatherings be forbidden? Why would promoting prayer for religious freedom be forbidden?
Discussing the Double Standard
WSJ failed to address this double standard of progressive Rosary critics in the article.
The progressive Rosary Hecklers quoted by WSJ demand freedom of belief and freedom of speech for themselves, but not for others. They want the right to scream four-letter words at others across Capitol Square in the presence of children, but to forbid the words “Our Father, who art in heaven.”
Further Important Issues Omitted by the WSJ report:
Validity of Christian claims regarding the violation of religious freedom by the HHS mandate
Evaluation of the position of America’s moral leaders on the religious freedom issue
Reporting the obvious differences in behavior, lawfulness and respect for the rights of others between the rosary participants and the heckling critics.
Definition of “separation of Church and State.”
Discussion of whether a once-in-14-prayer-rallies mention of two pro-life politicians constitutes a “violation of separation of Church and State.”
Discussion of the very pertinent 1954 IRS code amendment, which has been used by the IRS to silence Christian pastors, but has not been subject to an examination of constitutionality by the courts.
The effect that restrictions on religious freedom would have on the rights of progressives when in the future conservative Presidents are elected, and the effect on this country’s historical role as the safe haven for the world’s émigrés.
Suggestion: if Doug Erickson is to be the WSJ “religion” reporter, he must examine the serious issues affecting religion, rather than using his status at the WSJ to spread progressive propaganda. He should provide some professional and journalisticly ethical analysis of real religious issues.
Shame on the Wisconsin State Journal for Ethics Violations
Come tonight, and every Thursday night at 7PM through November 1st.
Join Catholics today in the 14th Capitol Rosary Rally – Thursday, Sept 20, 2012, on the State Street steps of the Madison Capitol at 7 PM.
Come watch what most Americans do (they act civilized and they pray).
Stand in solidarity with Christians for religious freedom in America. All are welcome to watch, to listen, or to pray.
Agnostics welcome.
Atheists welcome.
Baptists welcome.
Buddhists welcome.
Catholics welcome.
Evangelicals welcome.
Jews welcome.
Lutherans welcome.
Muslims welcome
Presbyterians welcome. All welcome, including any not mentioned above.
Invitation limited to well-behaved people who respect the rights of others.
All of us need, and will benefit from, freedom of religion (of belief), which is guaranteed to us by the First Amendment. This freedom has been violated by President Obama’s HHS Mandate, a mandate which must be reversed.
Why Even Atheists Should Stand Against Presidential Mandates
If Presidents of the future will be permitted to issue mandates like the HHS Mandate, without popular vote, without Senate or House vote, and without Supreme Court evaluation, what mandate will the NEXT President of the United States, who may not belong to your favorite political affiliation, decree?
I may not like President Obama’s mandates.
But others, including atheists, would not like President Romney’s mandates
or President Rick Santorum’s mandates
or President Ron Paul’s mandates
or President Michelle Bachmann’s mandates.
The next President could issue a Mandate that imposes tax penalties not on Catholics, but on International Workers Union Members, FFRF Members, Solidarity Singers, and Madison LGBT activists- severe, crippling penalties. Then were would Craig, Annie, Genie and Bluebird be? The Mandate could include penalties for Wisconsin Sate Journal reporters, too, Doug.
We all benefit from supporting freedom and democracy.
We have to coexist, so progressives should realize that in 46 days the shoe might be on the other foot.
This is still a democracy, and Presidential mandates are thinly disguised despotic edicts.
These are some of the religious, ethical and cultural issues that Doug Erickson and the WSJ should be discussing, rather than spreading the speculations of fringe progressives on the motivation of Catholics.
And today, on Sept 12, 2012, after the murder of the US Ambassador to Libya, after the parading of the Ambassador’s body, and the killing of three other Americans, as of 11 o’clock this AM, President Obama has not cancelled his campaign trip to Las Vegas, and President Obama took time to condemn the Romney campaign before he condemned the murder of the Americans. President Obama plans to make a statement from the Rose Garden on the Ambassador’s killing, then to continue on his campaign schedule.
Dereliction of Duty?
President Obama has previously neglected his duties in striking ways, including absence from 56% of his Presidential Daily Briefs, where Presidents are briefed on the nation’s most pressing intelligence threats. Breitbart.com accuses President Obama of “Fiddling While Rome Burns.”
Syte Reitz grew up in Queens, New York, in a family of Lithuanian immigrants who fled Nazi and Soviet domination during World War II. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and post-doctoral work at Princeton University. Syte left her job as an Assistant Professor at Oakland University, Michigan, to devote herself to raising her children, and ultimately homeschooled them through the end of high school. She is a member of Madison's Cathedral Parish.
Obama is double-crossing his wife. Is Michelle loving this?
Syte Reitz grew up in Queens, New York, in a family of Lithuanian immigrants who fled Nazi and Soviet domination during World War II. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and post-doctoral work at Princeton University. Syte left her job as an Assistant Professor at Oakland University, Michigan, to devote herself to raising her children, and ultimately homeschooled them through the end of high school. She is a member of Madison's Cathedral Parish.
