So now your taxpayer dollars are paying for abortions other countries. Happy Independence Day, America.

Yes, seriously. Our pro-abortion (up through birth) POTUS is is pretty straightforward on this, so I’ll let him speak for himself. The following is from the White House’s web site.

Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning
MEMORANDUM FOR

THE SECRETARY OF STATE

THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SUBJECT: Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(f)(1)), prohibits nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive Federal funds from using those funds “to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning, or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.”  The August 1984 announcement by President Reagan of what has become known as the “Mexico City Policy” directed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand this limitation and withhold USAID funds from NGOs that use non-USAID funds to engage in a wide range of activities, including providing advice, counseling, or information regarding abortion, or lobbying a foreign government to legalize or make abortion available.  The Mexico City Policy was in effect from 1985 until 1993, when it was rescinded by President Clinton.  President George W. Bush reinstated the policy in 2001, implementing it through conditions in USAID grant awards, and subsequently extended the policy to “voluntary population planning” assistance provided by the Department of State.

These excessively broad conditions on grants and assistance awards are unwarranted.  Moreover, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning programs in foreign nations.  Accordingly, I hereby revoke the Presidential memorandum of January 22, 2001, for the Administrator of USAID (Restoration of the Mexico City Policy), the Presidential memorandum of March 28, 2001, for the Administrator of USAID (Restoration of the Mexico City Policy), and the Presidential memorandum of August 29, 2003, for the Secretary of State (Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning).  In addition, I direct the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID to take the following actions with respect to conditions in voluntary population planning assistance and USAID grants that were imposed pursuant to either the 2001 or 2003 memoranda and that are not required by the Foreign Assistance Act or any other law:  (1) immediately waive such conditions in any current grants, and (2) notify current grantees, as soon as possible, that these conditions have been waived.  I further direct that the Department of State and USAID immediately cease imposing these conditions in any future grants.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE, January 23, 2009.

H/T to Emery McClendon of www.armad.net.

WE’LL TALK ABOUT IT NOW! Helen Thomas White House Daily Brief

The press is actually up in arms over Obama’s scripting of the press. Helen Thomas was especially upset.

 

Obama’s War On Talk Radio

Dick Moress discusses how Obama, Congress and the Special Interests are turning a slump into a crash, freedom into socialism, and a disaster into a CATASTROPHE.

 

What? Reporters Actually Grill Gibbs Over Prepackaged Questions for Obama

“The point is the control from here. We have never had that in the White House. And we have had some control but not this control. I mean I’m amazed, I’m amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and have controlled…” veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas said Wednesday.

UPDATE: Video of Press Conference by Sally Kern on Oklahoma Citizens’ Proclamation for Morality (Also: Link to Sign the Petition Online)

UPDATE 07/02/09: Following is video from the press conference. For more information, see Michael McNutt’s report on The Oklahoman.

 

UPDATE 06/30/09: There is now a petition for a National version of this, HERE. Also, Oklahomans who are not able to make it to the Courthouse on Thursday can sign the petition online HERE.

ORIGINAL POST, 06/30/09: The following proclamation, authored by OK State Rep. Sally Kern, will be signed by religious leaders, elected officials, and citizens of Oklahoma at noon on Thursday, July 2, 2009 on the steps of the Capitol in Oklahoma City:

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We the People of Oklahoma,Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of Liberty; to secure just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, “It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and Morality” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government…but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God” (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, “God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God” (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, “Whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state” (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, “We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the people…the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion” (Roger Sherman); and

WHEREAS, “This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians” (Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, “When you…exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose just men who will rule in the fear of God” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, “The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing that “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord,” and humbly implore all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God, our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

Signed on the second day of July in the year of our Lord Christ Two Thousand and Nine.

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Al-Qaeda Threatens France Over Burqa

Today, al-Qaeda threatened France over the ostensible issue of the burqa. Tommorrow, America will be in their gun sights on this same issue.

The burqa, niqab–even hijab–are being used as pawns in the power struggle between jihadic Islam and the West. These dress codes are primarily political in nature.

For those people who really and truly believe that the burqa is a religious and not a political/jihadic issue–consider this:

According to the United States monitoring service SITE Intelligence, Al-Qaeda, has just announced that it plans to “take revenge on France for its opposition to the burka, calling on Muslims to retaliate against the country.” Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said…Continue reading on Chesler Chronicles >>

 

Lies of AE911Truth Exposed 2

More research at this site exposes yet more lies by the Architects and Engineers for 911Truth ( AE911Truth):

Go about three-quarters of the way down the page here,  and you’ll see the claims made by David Chandler, who is a high school physics teacher, NOT an architect or engineer.

This site provides this quote from David Chandler from here: “NIST has now officially accepted that WTC7 came down with the acceleration of gravity, but they still couch it as a phase in a 5.4 second interval they claim matches the 5.4 seconds required for their model to collapse 18 floors.”

However, like most CT’s, Chandler is being dishonest. 

As we see here, WTC 7 did NOT come down with the acceleration of gravity ( i.e., freefall)-  in point of fact it took 40% longer to collapse than it would have at freefall speed.

Furthermore, NIST went into more- and better- detail as they have more precise equipment than Chandler, and , yes, they did find a period of 2.25 seconds where WTC 7 fell at freefall speeds ( Hint: 2.25 seconds does not the entire event make). However, what Chandler and the rest of the “truthers” won’t tell you is that in those 5.4 seconds of the roofline’s collapse, there is a period both before and after the 2.25 seconds where there is a period of SIGNIFICANT resistance-  and Chandlers OWN MEASUREMENTS show EXACTLY THE SAME THING ( reference) Hint: If, as Chandler and other “truthers” claim, the NIST is lying, and Chandlers own numbers match the NIST, then, logically, Chandler would have to be lying as well.

As for the controlled demolition theory, Richard Gage, founder of AE911Truth often quotes Danny Jowenko, a Dutch expert on controlled demolition to “prove” controlled demolition ( source).

While it is true that Jowenko says WTC 7 was a controlled demolition,  and Gage is not misquoting Jowenko on WTC 7, there is one tiny little detail Gage doesn’t want you to know: Jowenko believes, correctly, that the Twin Towers came down on their own ( source).

Furthermore, as we see here, Jowenko is first shown a video of Silversteins “pull it” statement, which, of course, would logically affect his view of the WTC 7 collapse, then this site provides the interview with Jowenko in 3 videos.

Of course, if you go to the 4^th video here, you’ll see the TRUTH about Silversteins “pull it” quote.

At about 25 seconds into the 4^th video ( the one that Gage did NOT show Jowenko and is actually the SAME PBS Special “Truthers” like to use when misquoting Silverstein), you here Silverstein saying he got a call from the FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMANDER ( source ).

At about 46 seconds, we see the details “truthers” leave out- pull it in demolition means pulling the building away from another one with cables, and this video ( which also happens to be the same one Alex Jones uses) shows the heavy construction equipment getting ready to pull WTC 6 down with cables ( source).

Scroll down a little farther here, and you’ll see that Jowenko is only given select information.

This quote from here tells the truth: “Jowenko is then shown a video of the building falling. There is no indication whether he is shown the complete collapse or a video starting at the favorite cut-in spot favored by Gage and similar conspiracy theorists.

He is also shown a simple drawing of the building’s placement of core columns. He is given no information about the cantilevered section to the north, or the crucial transfer trusses in the area of column 79.

Other bits of information are given to him here and there, and the interviewer appears to have pages of the FEMA report on WTC 7 on the table. Close to the end, he’s shown the FEMA estimate of column damage. But Jowenko basically refers to the video, the Silverstein quote, and the column drawing during the interview. He certainly has never seen the Final Report from NIST on WTC 7.

Experts who have examined much more evidence than that presented to Jowenko have concluded that 7 World Trade fell due to damage to its unusual structure by thermal expansion of structural elements.”

In short, despite it’s name, The Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth are about as interested in the truth as OJ is in finding the real killers.

Lies of AE911Truth Exposed

It is time to bring the lies of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 “Truth” (AE911Truth) to light.

First, as we see, here, AE911Truth claims that over 24,000 Architects and engineers came face to face with the truth.  However, as this site points out, if you go to AE911Truth’s own site, you’ll see they only added 50 new petitioners, and if you watch the videos from AE911Truth’s own Web site, you’ll see that only 4 of those 50 were architects or engineers.

As we see here, that means the actual percentage of Architects and Engineers that are members of AE911Truth is a whopping 0.000166%.

In addition, if you go a little further down the Web site here, you will see even more evidence of Ae911Truth’s deception.  The owner of this Web site (who I might add is, as we see here, by his OWN ADMISSION, a LIBERAL who, again, by his OWN ADMISSION, is more than willing to believe the worst of the Bush Administration.  However, unlike AE911Truth, the “Scholars” for 9/11 “Truth,” etc, he is, at least, an honest researcher) points out that a little further research shows that there’s a problem with the Architects and Engineers for 911Truth’s claim to have 640 architects and engineers asking for a new investigation.  In point of fact, that total of 640 includes architect and engineering students, as well as other people who work  in those offices ( Hint: People who work in those offices aren’t necessarily architects or engineers- they could be secretaries). In point of fact, when everyone except those with licenses and degrees is excluded, there are only 284 names, and that’s with a broad definition of engineer- there are landscape and electrical engineers on that list (source). Scroll further down this site, and you will see that AE911Truth is again using the Beijing skyscraper fire just last February to “prove” their point.        

AE911Truth states’ that the Beijing skyscraper was comparable in size to WTC 7, which is technically true, but this site points out some details that AE911Truth leaves out: 1) The skyscraper in question was REINFORCED CONCRETE and steel, much like the new WTC 7 will be- and concrete is far more resistant to fire than steel.  This site also makes an aside that the “truthers” who support a controlled demolition of the WTC use the Madrid Windsor fire and make a big deal out of the fact that it didn’t collapse, while ignoring the fact that the steel in the Madrid Windsor fire DID melt, and it’s the reinforced concrete that survived, 2) The Beijing skyscraper was built  by Arup AFTER conducting an EXTENSIVE study of the WTC collapses, and 3) The Beijing skyscraper was built to withstand major earthquakes.  If it’s built to withstand the huge earthquakes that often occur China ( and the Pacific Rim ( aka, the “Ring of Fire”) in general, how is fire going to bother it?

Oh, and one other detail: As I pointed out in a previous article, there are two other differences as well: 1) The Beijing fire was fought, and 2) Unlike WTC 1,2, and &, the Beijing skyscraper did NOT suffer SEVERE structural damage before catching fires.

When it comes to honesty, AE911Truth makes Bill Clinton look like a Boy Scout.

Michelle Bachmann (R-MN): Now we have moved into the realm of gangster-government.

An incredulous U.S. Rep from Minnesota calls it the way she sees it.

 

Guns Come to Church

A few minutes before New Bethel Church’s highly publicized “open-carry service” began Saturday evening, Lynne Smith walked into the sanctuary with her husband and two friends and took a seat in the front row.

Reporting for TIME Magazine, Cary G. Stemle said that when asked what weapon she had with her, Smith had to stop and think about which gun she’d brought but finally said it was a Beretta .25 automatic. Her husband, Michael Houston, wore a Browning .380 in a holster. Their friends, Ted and Barbara Grant, were also carrying weapons.

Barbara, wearing a NYPD baseball cap, had a Ruger .38 revolver, while Ted, who wore a ball cap with the National Rifle Association logo on the side and “Silver Bullet Brigade” on the front, had a Taurus .40 caliber automatic.

TIME said that the unusual gathering was entirely legal and acceptable to the leaders of New Bethel, an Assemblies of God church in Louisville, Kentucky, that invited people to bring their unloaded guns to this first-ever event. Neither of the two couples in the front row are New Bethel members.

A statement on the church’s web site about the event said that gun ownership is not part of the gospel message, which is Jesus Christ, His life, death, burial and resurrection.

The statement continued, “Gun ownership falls under the scope of Christian liberty. One may either choose to own or not own a firearm. But as soon as someone yells ‘foul,’ or that this event or activity is not something that one may do as a Christian, the matter now becomes inextricably linked with the gospel.”

The web site continued, “We recognize that some will disagree with us about this event, and we respect their right to do so. Yet, in the words of one of the greatest theologians ever to come from the Christian faith, ‘To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.’ (St. Thomas Aquinas).

A disclaimer on the web page referring to the event said, “All visitors to New Bethel Church Property enter at their own risk. New Bethel Church will not be held responsible for injuries to you or damage to your personal property.”

Smith told TIME she read about the service in the Louisville Courier-Journal and came “to see what was going on.”

All four are longtime NRA members, she said, and all are deeply worried that the federal government will mount an effort to take away the right to bear arms they believe is enshrined in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

TIME said that generalized concern was expressed in various ways by various people at the service, which became an international media sensation when it hit Louisville’s mainstream press early this month. Pastor Ken Pagano, a former Marine and a volunteer chaplain with the Louisville Metro Police Department, suggested the idea more than a year ago when the church board was brainstorming ways to expand its outreach.

Just after five o’clock, Pastor Ken Pagano stepped to the microphone, welcomed the crowd of about 175 and summarized the ground rules.

“All arms are to be holstered,” TIME reported he said. “It’s a cold-range carry as a show of support for the Second Amendment and First Amendment.”

TIME said Pagano focused on a number of issues he has dealt with before while being interviewed by journalists from Australia to Ireland.

They are that pacifism is optional for Christians; society faces more risks from texting and Twittering drivers on the highway than from guns; and “we’re not doing anything illegal, immoral or unconstitutional, so why apologize?”

TIME said he promised to keep the event (it was not a worship service) to about an hour, though it lasted 90 minutes.

The relaxed program was built largely around music and talking points interspersed with a series of videos downloaded from YouTube.

TIME said the audience sang a verse each of “America, the Beautiful,” “My Country ’tis of Thee,” and “God Bless America.”

They then watched a watched a video clip from the late comedian Red Skelton in which he invokes one of his former teachers who broke down the Pledge of Allegiance word by word. Pagano then asked the crowd to stand and led them in reciting the Pledge.

TIME said two videos featured the magicians Penn and Teller, who support gun rights. In one, they stuff a folded American flag inside a rolled-up copy of the Bill of Rights before seemingly setting it (and only it) on fire; the magicians then challenge the audience to embrace the ambiguity of the illusion and to understand that, regardless, the Bill of Rights remains.

Later, on another video, they parsed the language of the Second Amendment and quibble with those who quibble over punctuation around the word “people” and their right to bear arms.

TIME reported that Pagano related how the church’s insurance carrier refused to cover the event and his efforts to find a one-day rider. Only one agent in the country was willing to underwrite the event, he said - for $2,600. That, he said, illustrates how insurance companies have too much control over regular people. Those remarks, and others from Pagano, drew spontaneous bursts of “that’s right” and “amen.” The church eventually found coverage for $700.

After more videos there was a raffle with prizes of a free NRA membership, gun range time and a pistol.

There was also another video, this time of Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the USA,” and an invitation to hang out for hot dogs, chips and bottled water.
Afterward, Kevin Terrell, who was among a group of attendees dressed in camouflage, told TIME that his militia group, the Ohio Valley Freedom Fighters, is closely watching various gun legislation in Congress.

He said that former President George Bush’s expansion of presidential power is a problem because he believes the current president has used it to his advantage.

“I used to think I was a right-wing Republican until Bush,” he said. “Now that absolute power has been passed to a left-winger.”

The church didn’t know what to expect from the first-time event, said member Charles Hinckley, a former pastor who carried a Smith & Wesson .380, but it went off smoothly.

TIME said that video cameras were prohibited on church grounds, forcing news crews to do stand-ups beyond the entrance to the church’s long parking lot, and still photos were restricted to one pool photographer.

TIME reported that Pagano, who said church members have a responsibility to stress safe gun usage, would like to make the open-carry service an annual event annual leading to the Fourth of July. And he said he had no problem with an alternative rally, “Bring Your Peaceful Heart … Leave Your Gun at Home,” that coincided with the gun service.

Terry Taylor, who heads Interfaith Paths to Peace, which organized the counter-rally, said there was no need to protest at the New Bethel event. “That’s not how we do things,” TIME reported he said. “We wanted to hold our own event and give something to people that we think is better.”

For more information go to New Bethel Church.

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Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico’s largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master’s degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is “The Face of Homelessness.” Additional details are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com. Reynalds’ latest book is “We All Need a Little Help.” It was released on October 3 2008. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A Frenzy of Honor Killings: Neda, Soraya, Bursa - and Me

The world has just watched the cold-blooded murder of Neda in Teheran. The last sentence she uttered was: “Death to the Dictator.” Many of us are now about to see the haunting film about the real-life stoning of another Iranian woman, known as Soraya M. These two tragedies took place in a Muslim country.

The blood of real (not just reel) Muslim women, murdered either by the state or by their families, continues to cry out—not only in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa but also in the West.

Two days ago, on June 24, 2009, in Germany, a Turkish father, Mehmet O, a kebab shop owner, repeatedly knifed his fifteen-year-old daughter, Bursa, while she was sleeping. Despite the fact that Bursa, her mother, and her sister all wore hijab, Mehmet O. still felt Bursa was too “westernized,” and that she did not want her “strict Muslim father to control her life.”

Bursa’s friends described her as a “fun-loving girl, (who) loved hip hop music….But that is no reason to kill someone.”

Continue reading on Chesler Chronicles >>

 

The Honduran Mirror

Tsk, tsk, Obama is deeply concerned over the detention,  and expulsion of the leftist Honduran President. It seems the Honduran Supreme court, the people and the military objected to the Socialist President’s trying to push through even more socialist plans ala Chavez of Venezuela and his plans for dragging the Honduran people with him.

Obama is finally taking a political stand, siding with Chavez, Castro, and other social leaders from Central and South America. This really shouldn’t be much of a surprise to those who have peaked beneath the wool that Obama has been pulling over the eyes of Americans.

The Honduran Legislature grew tired of having President Zelaya imposing his will over that of the people. The lawmakers stated that the ex-President “provoked confrontations and divisions,” within the country. The Honduran army arrested and deported for what the people of Honduras saw as criminal acts.

Zelaya claimed that he was elected in a fair and honest election (unlike the 2008 election in the United States). US Diplomats are pressing for Honduras to restore constitutional law (too bad, they don’t seem to care about the unconstitutional actions of our own government).

I realize my opinion is probably in the minority at this time, but when a president acts against the will of the people, the legislature and the judiciary of a country, they have the right and the duty to remove him from office. We should not condemn their methods just because they are not ours. In the United States we have two methods to remove an elected official, impeachment and recall.

Perhaps Obama and his blind minions in Congress are seeing visions of their future.

 

 

Ghost Ranger, Tex’s first novel, is now available on Lulu and Amazon.

Rush Limbaugh on the Waxman-Markey-Madoff Cap

Rush Limbaugh monologue on the Cap and Trade Tax bill.

Parts 2 - 4 are available on YouTube.