On Oliphant's Palin attack: Where are you, Matthew 25 Network?

The recent beneath-disgusting attack by left-wing cartoonist Oliphant on Sarah Palin, the Pentecostal faith and even God--all in one cartoon--is more than just the latest in non-taste by leftists in attacking Palin. It also, once against, exposes the Matthew 25 Network for the blatant fraud that they are.

Matthew 25 Network was all aghast that when Palin made pointed jabs at Obama's paper-thin record during her Republican convention speech, urging her to "put away falsehood" and chiding her for not acting Christian.

Now, this network claims to represent Pentecostals who support Obama. Have these pro-Obama Pentecostals SEEN Oliphant's Sept. 9 cartoon? How about a campaign to "put away malice," Matthew 25 Network? Where are you when a Christian sister, the Pentecostal tradition you claim to honor, and the Creator of the Universe are all viciously attacked?

Just a tip: you may have a bit more credibility if you DID denounce this vicious assault on common decency and religious faith by Oliphant. In the meantime, while you are all "praying" with Obama's staff each morning, try using what's left of your worm-eaten consciences to reflect on your shallow, abysmal lack of moral backbone and true faith.

Obama thug tactics in Show-Me State

I usually don't run PR releases verbatim, but this statement by Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt is right on target--especially in identifying the type of thuggery we could look forward to under an Obama administration:

"JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.

“'St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.

"'What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.

"'This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

“'Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.'”

The deafening silence on this issue, by the way, is from the great civil libertarians (self) appointed to guard our First Amendment Rights. ACLU, where are you?

Quote of the Week

"The most hypocritical of the legion of double standards employed by the news media in this campaign is that a paucity of experience in foreign policy is considered disqualifying in the Republican candidate for vice president, but inconsequential in the Democratic candidate for president"--Jack Kelly, from Dr. Jack Wheeler's To The Point newsletter.

JFK and the leftist media’s greatest fear

A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people--President John F. Kennedy

This has been one of my favorite quotes from JFK, and I believe it speaks loudly, now more than ever, of the dirty little secret about the mainstream media (MSM) and its allies among leftist blog outlets such as the Daily Kurs …I mean Kos.

The left wing is afraid of the people, the very people it claims to care so much about.

I could go on and on about this, why Joe Biden’s daily verbal missteps are covered over by a blanket of ignorance by the MSM, while similar gaffes would have been worldwide headlines had they been uttered by President Bush or Dan Quayle … why Don Imus was hounded out of the broadcasting business for an insensitive and ugly racist comment about the Rutgers women’s basketball team (for which he profusely apologized), while a far more alarming verbal assault against Sarah Palin by alleged comedian Sandra Bernhard--a sickening comment offensive to women and African Americans (that I won’t repeat here; go to the Drudge Report or Google to search for it, if you have the stomach for it)--goes all but unnoticed by the MSM (since it was against a Republican woman) …I almost feel like a broken record on this.

Here’s a little experiment: Since you may be heading to the Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com) anyway, check out all the links Matt Drudge puts on the page--to all the major news outlets, and a variety of news outlets across the spectrum, left, middle and right. Now go to the leftist ripoff of Drudge’s website called the “Drudge Retort” (www.drudge.com) and check out its links--every one of them is MSM or leftist; with no conservative sites ANYWHERE on the site.

You see, they CAN’T put any opposing viewpoints on this leftist website, because they’re AFRAID of them, and even more fearful that their readers might see them. No such fear is evident on Drudge’s web site.

Do those on the left really believe people are stupid, and have to be told the truth like little children? Are they so uncertain about their own beliefs, that they have to attack first and get the facts later (if they bother to get them right at all)? Are they of the belief that American citizens are incapable of thinking for themselves, if given various viewpoints? Given the duplicitous coverage by the media of the election, and hysterical ranting of leftists supporters (especially those openly calling for the destruction of Palin), I can only conclude that the left is permeated with fear of the very people they claim to champion. Ironic, isn’t it, that it was one of the greatest Democratic presidents that denounced this debilitating fear, which has gripped the very party he led.

2 good signs

Two REALLY good signs for the election:

From Siena College's recent New York poll: “With 50 Days Left, New York Is Far From True Blue. Obama’s Lead Falls to 5 Points; Down From 18 Points in June.”

Second headline: Lindsay Lohan lashes out against Sarah Palin--which can only swing more votes to McCain-Palin (among voters with any intelligence). Keep it up, Lindsay…let that ignorance flow!

Now for a cautionary note: While the Obama camp is frazzled by his apparent meltdown, it’s still only September. Events could transpire to swing the election either way. Still, it appears by the NY poll that even in safe blue states, Palin’s addition to McCain’s ticket is forcing them to re-examine the Great One’s paper-thin record. Further, what little of his message he was getting out is being muddled--partially by side issues like lipstick (his own doing; poor, poor judgment to use that wording after Palin‘s famous reference in her speech, regardless of whether he aimed it at her), but also by his own confused public stands. Four days after he claims on Sept. 4 he would not attack Palin …he does just that in a TV ad! It looks like voters are starting to take a hard look at the media hero…and they’re not liking what they see!

McCartney to play in Israel, tells threatening jihadists to “get back”

Jihadists have never been the sharpest tools in the shed in my book--they’re the same idiots who, as Mark Steyn noted, will claim in the same breath that, A) Israel was behind the 9-11 attacks, and B) 9-11 was a great victory for Allah. Don’t try pointing out that illogic to a jihadist, since logic isn’t, er, one of their strong points anyway.

But the latest jihadist threats are a real gem--Islamic extremists are now threatening…one of the Beatles?!?

Paul McCartney has scheduled to play a concert in Israel, as part of that nation’s 60th anniversary celebrations, which has drawn suicide bomber threats from jihadists if he doesn’t change his mind. But Sir Paul is adamant about playing in Israel despite the threats, showing a lot of guts in the process by deciding to “let it be” (sorry, I couldn’t resist). He’s also braver than the Great Obama, who backtracked on his “united Jerusalem” pronouncement which he made in front of a pro-Israel group--the day after he made the statement.

Also, some of these jihad sympathizers are grumbling on their blogs that if McCartney goes ahead with the concert, they’ll NEVER play one of Paul’s records again (funny, didn’t some fans say that when the Beatles broke up in 1970? But I digress…) I’ll bet All You Need is Love isn’t on that jihadist play list.

Ironically, the Beatles were banned from playing in Israel in 1965, due to the government at that time being fearful of the band’s possible “corrupting influence” (not to mention, Israel’s music scene was, at that point, drenched in French pop culture--as in, “Elvis who?”).

Robert Spencer’s Jihad Watch (jihadwatch.org) has the full report on this, humorously interspersed with some Beatles and McCartney song lyrics. McCartney, by the way, hosted the Concert for New York to benefit 9-11 victims, a month after the terror attacks. While I’m not a fan of some of his politics (he’s a big friend of the Clintons), he still gets a thumb’s up for standing up for Israel. Or in the language of the Fab Four, yeah, yeah, yeah!

In remembrance

This is a photo I carry around in my Bible.

I took it in May 1996, when I took my then-fiancée Melissa on a tour of New York City (this was the first time she got to meet my family, whom we stayed with on Long Island). We were on the Staten Island ferry so we could get a look at the Statue of Liberty, when Missy told me to take this shot of Manhattan Island--in part because of the Twin Towers. We visited World Trade Center in 1999, while visiting my sister Susan in the city (she worked across the street from the WTC).

We could never have imagined that on a fall day only several years later, these giant structures would be totally destroyed, with 3,000 lives snuffed out in a satanic-inspired attack on our nation.

I look at this picture not just on this day, but at times throughout the year. It reminds me that the great freedoms we have in this country, including the right to worship God and express our beliefs freely, must constantly be defended--"freedom isn't free," and we must always show the deepest appreciation to those who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, including the brave fire fighters, police, and emergency personnel; those citizens who gave their lives to rescue fellow citizens in the Twin Towers; military men and women at the Pentagon; and the brave passengers who stood up to the cowardly terrorists on United 93 (and I stress cowardly; Osama bin Laden, who orders others to die for Islam, hides in a cave trying to save his own life). And we must always be thankful for those military men and women who continue to guard our freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We must be thankful to God for the fact that our nation has not been attacked since 9-11--and also give credit where credit is due for this, to President Bush and his administration. This event cannot slip away from our conscience; it should instead continually spur us to greater prayer for our nation, especially for our leaders as commanded by the Bible, and for a great reawakening of faith in Jesus throughout our land. Psalm 91:1.

Matthew 25 Network influence: slip slidin' away

Pity the poor Matthew 25 Network.

The outfit created by Barak Obama’s presidential campaign to deceive … er, to recruit Evangelical, Pentecostals and Charismatics into backing the media’s anointed great hope for America looked like they were on a roll to take a chunk out of this bloc of voters, or at least confuse them enough to make them stay at home. With an assortment of wolves in sheep’s clothing and a smattering of other “religious figures” (mainly from liberal churches), they splashed onto the scene by ridiculing Dr. James Dobson, and the media loudly sang of its wonder and praise of this “courageous” group.

Then Obama ran into a brick wall at Rick Warren’s “proto-debate” at Saddleback church, where he gave a really flaky answer on the abortion question, while John McCain, in contrast, gave a straightforward answer defending the rights of the unborn.

Now, they have to be in a real tailspin with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a Spirit-filled Christian who is strongly pro-life, being picked by McCain as his running mate for vice president. The group‘s “evangelical shock value” spokesman Brian McLaren (that is, one who brandishes the title “evangelical,” then contradicts evangelical values so he can be “different”) and friends can only muster up a whining response:

“The Matthew 25 Network is extremely disappointed in Sarah Palin's address last night at the Republican National Convention. We call on her to commit herself to campaigning in good faith, with love and respect for her political opponents and a strong commitment to truth-telling …”

Maybe if McLaren and company can convince their own leading candidate to do the same (for example, Obama needs to “put away falsehood,” as Matthew 25 likes to harp, and tell the truth about his relationship with former Weather Underground terrorist group leader Bill Ayers--the same Ayers who Obama claims to know only as someone in his neighborhood, but who actually launched Obama’s political career in his living room, and served alongside Obama in his “community organizing.” See my previous post).

To paraphrase an old Paul Simon song, Matthew 25 Network sees, with Palin’s addition to McCain’s ticket, their potential influence “slip slidin’ away.” And the evangelical community will be better for it.

Palin: ready to rumble!

Alaska Governor and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, speaking Wednesday night on her experience as mayor of Wasilla: "And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."

In an outstanding speech at the RNC Wednesday, this was the line of the night--and not just by exposing Barak Obama and Joe Biden’s shallow attacks on her service as Wasilla’s mayor. It also throws the ball in Obama’s court about his “community organizing.“ Only Stanley Kurtz of the National Review has even bothered to check into this, meeting a bristling response from Obama’s robotic followers, who flooded a radio station Kurtz was on with complaints (but with no specific facts to contradict Kurtz’s research into this part of Obama’s resume).

Let’s put this issue into perspective: since Friday, when John McCain announced that Palen was his running mate, the national Obama cheerlead…er, I mean, media, were able to dig up all kinds about facts about Palin’s husband's 20-plus years old DUI, and about alleged, vague improprieties as governor. The media also looked on with silent approval when Daily Kos bloggers viciously attacked Palen’s children, forcing the McCain campaign to reveal that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant, and was marrying the father (to Obama and Biden‘s great credit, they denounced this attack on Palin‘s children). And more sludge will surely dribble out before Nov. 4.

But since Obama entered the presidential race, NOT ONE of these media giants even looked into his “community organizing” with one Bill Ayers, a leader of the domestic terrorist group, The Weather Underground (also known by their other idiotic name, the Weathermen, stealing the reference from a Bob Dylan song). Obama claimed Ayers was just someone he knew in the neighborhood. Right, someone “in the neighborhood” enough to host Obama’s launch into politics in his living room, and to serve on some “community organizing boards” with the media’s savior of America.

This Bill Ayers is quite a character. His murderous group went around bombing government buildings--including the U.S. Capitol--and police stations from the late 60s to the early 80s, with Ayers later whining to The New York Times in 2001 that his terrorist group didn’t do more. When he was acquitted of one of these attacks (due to prosecution mishandling of evidence), he proclaimed he was “guilty as sin, free as a bird.”

Obama’s campaign response is weak, weak, weak, “Obama was only 8 years old” (so why does he associate with Ayers NOW?). “He has denounced Ayers’ crimes” (That’s news to me. Show me where and when). Of course, any revelation about Obama’s relationship with Ayers would require the media to turn on their anointed savior, and I’m sure you’ll instead hear cries of “guilt by association is not fair.” Now, if the media had ever found McCain “associating” with the likes of KKK idiot-in-chief David Dukes … oh, but I’m sure the media would handle it even-handedly (and also, by the way, there IS an Easter Bunny).

As I said above, Palin’s speech was a knockout, and I found myself laughing all the way through it. Of course, the MSM will dismiss it, with Eleanor Clift claiming that when Palin was picked by McCain, there was derisive “laughter” in newsrooms across America. After Palin’s brilliant speech, Clift and her leftist newsroom comrades are not laughing now.

Second best line of the night was from former NYC Mayor Rudy Guliani, about the feminist Democratic Party’s hypocrisy, in questioning whether Palin can be vice president while raising five children: “They never ask a man that.”