Cal Thomas (emphasis added):
“Obama and others on the evangelical left see government, not individuals or the church, as the instrument by which the commands of Jesus are implemented. In such a doctrinal interpretation, government serves as a kind of “lesser God,” intruding on believers and their commission to do good works, as a means of sharing the gospel message, and concentrating not on the message, but on the implementation of the work itself, which only helps in this life, not the next.”
—————————————————————————
A graduate of the John Kerry Bible College, Barack Obama is true to form. Like his mentor, Obama cites Scripture to bolster his socialist view of the world and make himself seem more “Christian.”
Unless you live in a cave, you heard about Saturday’s Q&A between Rick Warren of “mega-church” Saddleback and presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. For this post, I want to focus on a few statements Obama made (from an unedited transcript - emphasis added):
“I think America’s greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we still don’t abide by that basic [p]recept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me. And notion of — that basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism. It applies to, you know, not having — not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class. I mean, there is a purvasive [sic] sense I think that this country is wealthy and powerful as we still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of these…”
[click to continue…]
Wednesday, November 2: Howard Kurtz has a Kerry reaction round-up. Thanks for the shout out!
———————————————————————-
Update: From the horse’s mouth.
Commenter Larry says:
“I very seldom agree with you but I come back to your blog because I think essentially you’re an honest person. Your response to the Kerry situation is the same as most Republicans would respond to the latest gaffe from Dennis Hastert or John Boehner. The fact that you would give the benefit of the doubt to a man you dislike is a testament to you as a person and a thinker.”
Later…OK, so Instapundit linked to this post, which guarantees that many eyes will see it. It’s sad that I have to direct new conservative readers to the comment policy, but there you go. Politics makes some people irrational.
I’m also a conservative defending, if you will, John Kerry, who is unpopular with conservatives and Republicans. Some folks are offended because I said the conservative response was “fanatical.” You really shouldn’t get your knickers all twisted up because of something I wrote, but if you must…
No matter who are, how long you’ve been reading this blog, or how much you “love” me, I stand by this post and everything in it. If John Kerry’s aide made up the story about the prepared remarks, then he/she is a liar and Kerry really intended to insult the troops. If the aide’s story is true, then what I said is true: Kerry botched a joke. Until I see evidence to the contrary, I’ll err on the side of believing that in this instance, Kerry intended to insult Bush, not the troops.
[click to continue…]
Before I get to Howard Dean, I have to get this off my mind. I cringe every time I see and hear “African American.” There is no such nationality or race as “African American,” OK? If blacks don’t like the word “black” or whites feel funny saying it, pick a new word. I resent being referred to as “African American,” but if other folks want to be called that, there’s nothing I can do about it. Please, please, please stop using that term.
We are Americans. Most of us are descended from Africans, but we are not Africans. Most were born and raised right here in the good old USA. Do not assume that all blacks want to be called “African American.” Do not make me a lesser American by adding a reference to another continent, one I’ve never even been to, for crying out loud, to my nationality.
On to Howard Dean. A group of black Republicans is calling for his head after his remarks about black hotel staff a couple of weeks ago. Screaming Dean said, “You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here.”
Harty-har-har. Funny guy. I blogged about it, and the post was even mentioned on MSNBC. Anyway, so some black Republicans in Mississippi want Dean to resign as head of the DNC.
[click to continue…]
I appeared on Kevin McCullough’s radio show yesterday afternoon to talk about my blog and the election. While discussing the moral divide, I suddenly remembered something Star Parker told me: Republicans can make inroads into the black community through the evangelical churches.
I didn’t give it much thought at the time because I don’t like skin color targeting. But I was looking at it the wrong way. If Republicans concentrated on evangelicals, who come in all colors, they may be able to appeal to more of the evangelicals who happen to be black.
This morning, coincidentally (no such thing, of course), I saw Gregory Kane’s latest column (reg. req. — use member name: bugmenot; password: startribune). He writes about this very issue:
The first inkling I had that Sen. John Kerry would lose the election came exactly a week before, when I participated in a telephone conference call that the Massachusetts senator had with about 350 black clergy.
After former President Bill Clinton introduced him, Kerry told the group that the issue of gay marriage was a red herring.
“I ask you not to be diverted from the real issue in this case,” Kerry told the ministers. “Fifty percent of the African-American men in New York City are unemployed. There are more black men in prison than in college.”
As if blowing off the moral issue that would eventually cost him the election weren’t enough, we have to look at what else was wrong with the picture: When you’re telling clergy that things many Christians regard as sins don’t matter, you might not want an admitted philanderer to introduce you.
Earlier in the campaign, Kerry shared a stage with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, another fella not yet bitten by the monogamy bug, who said moral issues were a diversion.
While I blame Kerry, a supposed Christian, for downplaying morality for the sake of politics, the fault lies with Christians in these churches who were persuaded by his racially-charged rhetoric. Last month I briefly discussed this issue in John Kerry and Jeremiah.
[click to continue…]
Up to 125 million Americans will cast votes to choose the leader of the United States for the next four years and set the country’s course on the Iraq (news - web sites) war, the fight against terrorism, the economy and foreign relations.
Polls show the race is extraordinarily close, with a flurry of surveys showing a dead heat nationally and contradictory polls indicating most of the 10 hardest fought battleground states could tip either way.
Bush and Kerry spent their final day on the campaign trail on Monday racing back and forth through a handful of crucial swing states in a last-ditch hunt for votes, as both men try to stitch together the 270 electoral votes needed to claim victory.
Tell us about your experience at the polls today. Did you witness voter fraud or was it uneventful? Long lines or empty buildings?
[click to continue…]
No time for substantive blogging today, so I’ll post JFK’s concession speech, embargoed until the election is over:
Kerry Concession Speech Takes High Road
[AP EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS STORY ABSOLUTELY EMBARGOED UNTIL SEN. KERRY ACTUALLY DELIVERS THE SPEECH AFTER THE POLLS CLOSE IN CALIFORNIA.]
(2004-11-03) — When John Forbes Kerry took the podium last night in a Boston hotel ballroom, many supporters expected him to heed the poet’s call: “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage…”
But the veteran-senator disappointed his troops one last time by taking the high road in his concession speech.
“America has spoken tonight,” said a stoic Mr. Kerry, “They have chosen strength and integrity over indecision and political opportunism. This landslide victory for my opponent–forgive me, let me call him President Bush– this victory demonstrates the essential decency and folksy wisdom of a bold and humble people. In all frankness, my candidacy was never anything more than a vitriolic hate-parade, funded by big unions, Hollywood and the trial lawyers.”
Mr. Kerry then stunned the assembled party faithful.
“Tonight I step from the spotlight into the shadow of a great and good man,” he said. “In doing so, I now join my friends Sen. Zell Miller, former New York Mayor Ed Koch and millions of anonymous Democrats who secretly betrayed their party today for the good of their nation tomorrow. As I did rhetorical battle with President Bush, I found myself respecting him, admiring him and longing to be more like him. From now on, I will say what I mean, mean what I say and act accordingly. Let me sum up now by paraphrasing my mentor, John F. Kennedy–starting tonight, Ich bin ein Bushie.”
Courtesy of Scrappleface 
Happy Friday!
Update (11/4): Attention angry liberals — I am not mocking John Kerry. This satirical piece was written before the election and by someone else.
Update II (8:29 p.m.): 1) Attention angry liberals — Before you post to this blog, please read my comment policy.
2) Attention commenters who have no idea what’s in the Bible — In regard to Christians, government and war, for your edification, please read Onward, Christian Soldiers. Some of you are under the mistaken impression that it’s “Un-Christian” to defend the country. That’s a fallacy.
Update: I started the Bandwidth Fund just in time. I’m getting a crazy traffic spike after Polipundit linked. Instapundit isn’t the only game in town!
——–
Do you know why it’s vital to present a united front during wartime? Because our enemies are watching. They don’t respect the Geneva Convention or reason or individual freedom or the countries that uphold such values. While we’re engaged in a politically correct war, the sharp young men of Islamofascism are on top of their game.
We cringe at words like “Islamofacist” and “vanquish the enemy” and “America’s survival”, while the enemies take advantage of the general ignorance and apathy of the American electorate. John Kerry and his minions (ABC, CBS, NYT, Washington Post, etc.) widely reported a now-discredited story about stolen weapons, and our enemies are up to things like this:
The CIA and FBI late Wednesday authenticated a disturbing new al Qaeda videotape which warns the next terror attack will dwarf 9/11.
“The streets will run with blood,” and “America will mourn in silence” because they will be unable to count the number of the dead, a man claims on the video.
Further claims on the video: America has brought this on itself for electing George Bush who has made war on Islam by destroying the Taliban and making war on Al Qaeda.
ABCNEWS obtained the tape from a source in Waziristan, Pakistan over the weekend. The network has withheld airing it, initially citing concerns over its authenticity.
One senior federal official alleged ABCNEWS is now holding back from broadcasting any portion of the video out of fear it will be seen as a political move by the network during election week. (My emphasis)
Terrorists campaigning for Kerry. How sweet. With the aid and comfort of the enemy, Kerry stumps while his Islamofacist troops put out videotapes blaming Bush for the slaughter of innocents. Real nice, Johnny K. Johnny Jihad loves you.
[click to continue…]
…of John Kerry, I hope! Please, please, please don’t let Kerry win!
I was glad to see one of Kerry’s fellow liberals cutting him down in…the New York Times. Good stuff. According to David Brooks (reg. req.):
John Kerry wasn’t nominated because of his sparkling personality. He wasn’t nominated because of his selfless commitment to causes larger than himself. He was nominated because he’s a fighter. At the end of every campaign he comes out brawling. This was the guy who could take on Bush.
So nobody could imagine how incompetent, crude and over-the-top Kerry has been in this final phase of the campaign. At this point, smart candidates are launching attacks that play up the doubts voters already have about their opponents. Incredibly, Kerry is launching attacks that play up doubts voters have about him. Over the past few days, he has underscored the feeling that he will say or do anything to further his career.
*Laughing and sliding out of chair over both paragraphs* [click to continue…]
I’m glad I don’t live in Canada. What the U.S. is becoming is bad enough.
Some of you may know this Haroon Siddiqui (reg. req. maybe), described as an “Arab-Canadian”, but I’d never heard of him before yesterday. His column, “Bush Plays God Card” is not exactly a Bush/God-bashing piece, but I don’t think he cares for Bush, God or Americans all that much, which seems to be the case for most mainstream American journalists. He writes:
The most devout president in decades, Bush had expressed such sentiments before but not with such clarity. Which prompts the question: Is he cracking the constitutional wall between church and state? [No such thing. See last paragraph of post.]
I spoke to two American experts and re-read some of the relevant literature.
It used to be that the more industrialized a nation, the less religious. But by the 1980s, religious activism was not confined to Muslims, as assumed after the 1979 Iranian revolution.
“Newly politicized movements were occurring in virtually every major religious tradition,” writes British author Malise Ruthven in his latest book, Fundamentalism. The biggest upsurge was in America, with the rise of the New Christian Right.
As Canadians were moving away from religion, Americans were getting closer to it. (My emphasis)
This section alone is chockfull of interesting tidbits. I don’t know about these so-called American experts, but what exactly is the “Christian Right” and how is its “rise” measured? Perhaps I should find out about the “experts” and read (or read about) the books before I evaluate their credentials.
[click to continue…]
A reader just sent me this link from MSNBC:
A visit to West Virginia by Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry has been put on hold.
Kerry was scheduled to attended services at the Apostolic Christ Cathedral in Guyandotte on Sunday.
West Virginia Senators Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller were to attend with Kerry.
The church pastor, Reverend E. S. Harper, said they were not welcome if they planned to discuss politics during the service.
The Kerry campaign says the church issue did not affect the decision to cancel the trip. (My emphasis)
There are no words to express how impressed I am with this pastor. Many would tell Kerry the same thing, but it’s still good to see it reported in the media. Read about Kerry and his disrespect for black churches and the word of God here and here.
Katy sent a link to a story that goes into more detail about Kerry’s snub. I guess having to sit through a service and listen to a sermon is that painful for him.
Update III (10/16): Those dignity-stealing Democrats just won’t quit. Check out this New York Post editorial on the DNC frauds and their “minority” props.
Update II: Will someone please define “voter intimidation?”
The voter fraud frauders are gearing up, I see. Does anyone have information on this?
I hear Bill Hobbs has quite an archive on voter fraud issues.
Update (10/15): New York Post:
Republicans ripped into John Kerry yesterday over a stunning new internal manual that advises Democrats to launch “pre-emptive” strikes charging the GOP with voter intimidation — even if none exists.
The “Election Day Manual” — written for Kerry’s Colorado campaign workers — includes a menu of options Democrats can follow next month to claim Republican intimidation, ranging from issuing press releases to organizing minority leaders to denounce the practice.
It was unclear last night whether the manual had been penned by the Kerry campaign or the Democratic National Committee, although questions about it were fielded by the DNC.
Democratic leaders dismissed the charge, insisting the manual was aimed at providing guidance for “preventing and combating” voter intimidation from happening in the first place.
“All of the states received some language on combating and preventing voter intimidation,” said DNC spokesman Jano Cabrera.
In part, the manual reads: “If no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet, launch a ‘pre-emptive strike’ (particularly well-suited to states in which these techniques have been tried in the past.).”
[click to continue…]
542 comments and trackbacks for the live-commenting post: Thanks!
Bush 3, Kerry 0. Now let’s get this election thing over with it.
Bush is the better man, but will he win? He will protect the country the way John Kerry can’t. But will he win? Bush is a Christian and a patriot who loves America. Kerry is an elite globalist who’ll sell us down the river. But will he win? I don’t trust the electorate on this one, but I hope these next weeks go by quickly. I’m tired of the partisan games.
Let’s get back to living!
[click to continue…]
Update (8:39): Instapundit links. Let’s get this party started! The comment thread is now open.
Are you lonesome tonight? Bored? Hyper? Anxious? Apathetic? Come one, come all! I want your real-time play-by-play of the final debate. The last time around, we generated 166 comments and trackbacks, but tonight we can do better than that!
Beginning at 8:45 p.m. (debate starts at 9:00), I’ll open up this thread for live commentary on the debate. You’re all invited to watch it at my house (tell your friends, too), so swing on by La Shawn Barber’s Corner to weigh in on facial expressions, body language, inconsistencies and straight out lies (of John Kerry). I’m excited already.
[click to continue…]
Update: John Kerry and I have had this “conversation” before. Back in March, I addressed his butchering of James 2 (my first Instalanche and generated about 60 comments on my old blog), and this was the follow-up. Also, I’ve edited the post below for clarity.
———-
Look at that photo. Only God can judge a man’s heart, but to me they all look like phonies, phonies, phonies! And look how Jesse’s rolling his eyes at Sharpton.
I read an article this morning that caused heartburn. According to the Washington Times, John Kerry “preached” in another black church yesterday and pandered about jobs and healthcare.
[click to continue…]
Update (8:58 p.m.): Already an update! Instapundit has linked to this post, inviting the blog-less to live-comment. Welcome readers!
Update II: It is done. Right Journal says: “Mr. Bush won.”
****
I’m not watching the debate, but I invite readers to “live-comment” during the event.
We bloggers run “hybrid online sites that blend news, gossip and opinion”, according this article, and the blogosphere will be buzzing for sure. I just hope President Bush is well-prepped, forceful, aggressive and in Kerry’s face about every contradiction, inconsistency and lie.
Live-commenting is open.
For a round-up of live-blogging bloggers, see links below… [click to continue…]
