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Saturday, May 31, 2008

The Defamation of Jesus Christ - Reposted

This article was posted while we were in the middle of "Build Up to Memorial Day" and the tragic death of Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter. This is one of the most important posts we have had here at Do The Right Thing concerning the threat of islam and the message must be heard. - Cyber Pastor


The Defamation of Jesus Christ

Al-Dajjal 05/22/08

We hear about 'defamation of religions' from the 
U.N.H.R.C. and in December of '07, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution condemning it. We are familiar with Muslims complaining that their Prophet has been blasphemed.  You are about to learn of Islam's blasphemy concerning your Saviour. Gentle reader, put all fire, choke and spill hazards securely aside, this information may shock you. 

The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh: 
What do Muslims think about Jesus ?
Muslims respect and revere Jesus (P.B.U.H) and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind.

    What does Islam's canon of scripture say about Jesus? [Emphasis added.]
3:59
 Verily, the likeness of 'Iesa (Jesus) before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: "Be!" - and he was.

3:61
Then whoever disputes with you concerning him ['Iesa (Jesus)] after (all this) knowledge that has come to you, [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus)] being a slave of Allah, and having no share in Divinity)...

4:159
...And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), but must believe in him ['Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allah and a human being]...
   
19:30
"He ['Iesa (Jesus)] said: Verily! I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet;"


43:59
He ['Iesa (Jesus)] was not more than a slave. We granted Our Favour to him, and We made him an example to the Children of Israel (i.e. his creation without a father).

23:91
No son (or offspring or children) did Allah beget, nor is there any ilah (god) along with Him; ...

4:157-158
 And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) ]:  But Allah raised him ['Iesa (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allah is Ever All­Powerful, All Wise.

61:14
O you who believe! Be you helpers (in the Cause) of Allah as said 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), to Al Hawarîûn (the disciples): "Who are my helpers (in the Cause) of Allah?" Al Hawarîeen (the disciples) said: "We are Allah's helpers" (i.e. we will strive in His Cause!). Then a group of the Children of Israel believed and a group disbelieved. So We gave power to those who believed against their enemies, and they became the uppermost. 

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Allah Gives Victory to the Believing Group
...(So, We gave power to those who believed against their enemies, and they became the victorious (uppermost).) through the victory that Muhammad gained over the religion of the disbelievers, which brought the dominance of their religion.'' This is the wording in his book for the Tafsir of this honorable Ayah. Similarly, An-Nasa'i collected this statement of Ibn `Abbas in his Sunan. Therefore, the Ummah of Muhammad will always be prevalent on the truth until Allah's command (the Final Hour) commences, while they are on this path. The last group of them will fight against Ad-Dajjal along with `Isa, peace be on him, according to Hadiths in the authentic collections.

    I have now displayed to you proof from the Qur'an, Hilali & Khan's translation [linked to nine parallel translations] that, according to Islam, Jesus was:
  1. human
  2. not divine
  3. not the son of God
  4. Alah's slave
  5. not crucified
  6. not killed
  7. not resurrected
  8. a warrior
    Wait, there is more. 
    
Sahih Bukhari 4.55.651

Narrated Abu Huraira:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "I am the nearest of all the people to the son of Mary, and all the prophets are paternal brothers, and there has been no prophet between me and him (i.e. Jesus)."


Muhammad  said that he is half brother to Jesus!  Can he possibly top that one?  This is a long hadith, but  the full context is necessary to comprehending its enormity. The most essential clauses are highlighted. 

Sahih Bukhari 6.60.236

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Some (cooked) meat was brought to Allah Apostle and the meat of a forearm was presented to him as he used to like it. He ate a morsel of it and said, "I will be the chief of all the people on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know the reason for it? Allah will gather all the human being of early generations as well as late generation on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all-hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand. Then the people will say, 'Don't you see to what state you have reached? Won't you look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord' Some people will say to some others, 'Go to Adam.' So they will go to Adam and say to him. 'You are the father of mankind; Allah created you with His Own Hand, and breathed into you of His Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are? Don't you see what condition we have reached?' Adam will say, 'Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. He forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed Him . Myself! Myself! Myself! (has more need for intercession). Go to someone else; go to Noah.' So they will go to Noah and say (to him), 'O Noah! You are the first (of Allah's Messengers) to the people of the earth, and Allah has named you a thankful slave; please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' He will say.' Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become nor will ever become thereafter. I had (in the world) the right to make one definitely accepted invocation, and I made it against my nation. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Abraham.' They will go to Abraham and say, 'O Abraham! You are Allah's Apostle and His Khalil from among the people of the earth; so please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' He will say to them, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. I had told three lies (Abu Haiyan (the sub-narrator) mentioned them in the Hadith) Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Moses.' The people will then go to Moses and say, 'O Moses! You art Allah's Apostle and Allah gave you superiority above the others with this message and with His direct Talk to you; (please) intercede for us with your Lord Don't you see in what state we are?' Moses will say, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will become thereafter, I killed aperson whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Jesus.' So they will go to Jesus and say, 'O Jesus! You are Allah's Apostle and His Word which He sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by Him, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' Jesus will say. 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter.Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, 'Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.' So they will come to me and say, 'O Muhammad ! You are Allah's Apostle and the last of the prophets, and Allah forgave your early and late sins. (Please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?" The Prophet added, "Then I will go beneath Allah's Throne and fall in prostration before my Lord. And then Allah will guide me to such praises and glorification to Him as He has never guided anybody else before me. Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted. Intercede It (your intercession) will be accepted.' So I will raise my head and Say, 'My followers, O my Lord! My followers, O my Lord'. It will be said, 'O Muhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through such a gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share the other gates with the people." The Prophet further said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham)." 


Muhammad has cast himself as superior to Jesus! Notice the chain of succession of prophets, Muhammad, being the final prophet, is superior. 


    I have saved the worst for last. What will Jesus do when he returns?  Bukhari's collection of authentic hadith  is informative.
Sahih Bukhari 3.34.425

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortlydescend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from the non-Muslims, who are in the protection, of the Muslim government). Then there will be abundance of money and no-body will accept charitable gifts. 


    What is the meaning of 
break the cross and kill the pig?  Can it mean anything less than the destruction of Judiasm & Christianity?  If you harbor such hope, you are sadly deluded, as you will see from this next  tafsir. 

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Another Hadith
...He will break the cross, kill the pig, and banish the Jizyah and will call the people to Islam. During his time, Allah will destroy all religions except Islam and Allah will destroy Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal (the False Messiah)....


    Can it possibly get any worse? They claim that Jesus was totally human, not divine, not God's son and that he will destroy Christianity.  What is worse than that. Genocide!  Islam teaches that  Jesus will commit genocide!  I discovered this information by following a link in an article by Ibn Misr at 
Sons Of Apes And Pigs. I will quote an ayat, followed by Ibn Kathir's Tafsir of that ayat, which makes my case beyond any doubt. . 
7:167
And (remember) when your Lord declared that He would certainly keep on sending against them (i.e. the Jews), till the Day of Resurrection, those who would afflict them with a humiliating torment. Verily, your Lord is Quick in Retribution (for the disobedient, wicked) and certainly He is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful (for the obedient and those who beg Allah's Forgiveness).

Allah will torment the Jews, so?  Until the Day of Resurrection; then what happens? The tafsir has a shocking revelation. 
Ibn Kathir's Tafsir:  Eternal Humiliation Placed on the Jews
...Isa, son of Marywill kill the Jews. This will occur just before the end of this world....

Do you fully comprehend what you have just read? Another hadith  will provide some clarity. 
Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177
Sahih Bukhari  4.52.177

Narrated Abu Huraira:

    Allah's Apostle said,
 "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

Muslims must hunt down and kill the last Jew as a prerequisite to entering Paradise to  enjoy their Houris & rivers of wine. And Jesus Christ will lead them in that bloody battle.  

    To summarize Islam's characterization of our Saviour:
  1. human
  2. not divine
  3. not the son of God
  4. Alah's slave
  5. not crucified
  6. not killed
  7. not resurrected
  8. Muhammad's inferior half brother
  9. a warrior
  10. genocidal
  11. destroyer of  Christianity.
    Exactly what grounds does Islam have for complaint of blasphemy???  Please print this article and give a copy to your Priest, Pastor or Rabbi.  They need to be informed, to understand the true nature of Islam; it is not the innocent, touchy~feeley  equal pathway to God portrayed by the multiculturalists.  Permission to cross post, print and distribute this article is granted, it is placed in the public domain. 

"Every Day is Memorial Day" - More Memorial Day Pictures


Teaching our grandkids to honor God and Country!


Mrs. CP with the grandchildren.



Our friends Harold and Lucy. Harold is 85 and a WWII veteran. I'm going to talk about Harold more in a future post.

SSG Michael Bechert was added this year. Click here to read about his story.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Bob Dole to Scott McClellan

HT to ANewtOne and JimmyZ.

Everyone’s got the email from Mr. Dole to Scott McClellan; now so do we. --Jimmy Z

"There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues. No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique.

"In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you. No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm. When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years.

“[I will not read the book] because if all these awful things were happening, and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high profile job.

"That would have taken integrity and courage but then you would have had credibility and your complaints could have been aired objectively. You’re a hot ticket now but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?"

--Bob Dole

The Next Right; An Introduction

I've been wanting to post on this topic, but I wanted to look up this introduction first. It was dated May 7th. 

I'm not recommending anything other than you look at what The Next Right stands for and has to say - from there, we will see what happens. 

- Cyber Pastor 



by Patrick Ruffini

Today, we’re giving a sneak peek into something new on the right side of the blogosphere: an online community for change-minded activists and hardcore political junkies in the conservative movement. We’re calling it The Next Right. We’ll be launching in a few weeks, and you can sign up to get an email when we do.

My partners in this endeavor are already well known to you if you’re a fan of savvy, fact-driven political blogging: Jon Henke of QandO and recently a consultant to the Fred Thompson campaign, and Soren Dayton of RedState and Eye on ‘08 fame and all too briefly of the McCain campaign. 

Here’s why we’re doing this, and here’s why it’s different.

It’s no secret that the right operates at a severe disadvantage to the left when it comes to building online political infrastructure. People point to ActBlue and Obama’s massive fundraising advantage, but the problem cuts deeper: netroots activists on the left have built critical mass around an idea that regular people on the Internet can get their hands dirty and remix Democratic politics. They not only raise money. They recruit candidates. They fund full-time investigative journalism to ambush Republicans. They act as a party whip, creating consequences for Democrats who, in their view, don’t act like Democrats. They volunteer and flock to states with key races. The right can build all the tools it wants, but without a narrative and a rallying point for action, it will be for naught.

Part of the problem is structural. When the conservative blogosphere first emerged, we were in the midst of a political upswing, with back-to-back-to-back victories in 2000, 2002, and 2004. Political activism wasn’t going to be a comparative advantage for the right online. Most were content just being pundits or media critics. This trend was reinforced by the blogosphere’s success in scalping Dan Rather, part of a series of new media-driven events that arguably changed the trajectory of the 2004 election.

Ever since then, a radically different set of circumstances has dominated our politics. It’s one that requires a substantially different response — one that requires us to stop being pundits and start being change agents.

Put simply, the party, and in many cases, the movement, has lost its moorings. Earmarks exploded ten-fold, and it wasn’t under a Democratic Congress. In this winter’s primary, we saw the once mighty fiscal-social-national conservative coalition turned in on itself, with economic conservatives pitted against social conservatives. And too many of the “experts” in the Presidential campaigns this cycle failed to modernize the way the party does business, clinging to the old top-down rostrums of direct mail and fundraising-by-cocktail-party in an increasingly networked and crowdsourced world.

It’s no wonder that Joe Conservative outside the Beltway feels that none of his self appointed “leaders” are listening to him. He looks to Washington and sees a leadership class that is too often arrogant, timid, divided, and technologically behind the curve. It’s no wonder why this year more than most his wallet has been sealed shut when it comes to supporting Republican candidates — even the good ones.  

We’re calling the site The Next Right because much of this story will be written in the future tense. Our analysis will be as much about looking ten and fifteen years down the road as it will be about dissecting the mechanics of the 2008 contest. What are the coalitions, strategies, and tactics the right needs to win again? How does the party need to change to attract a generation of voters who could very well be lost to us if we don’t move fast? Where do we find the candidates who will lead a resurgent right in the 2010 and 2012 elections and beyond? The vibrant discussion Soren, Jon, and many others had about the future of the movement last spring and summer would be perfect fodder for this new venture.

If you’re looking for pure-play opinion and link bait on sundry topics from Ann Coulter to Jimmy Carter/Hamas, you won’t find it here. What you will find is in-depth (often unabashedly technical) writing about the election, the polls, the strategy, and the issues. Our analysis will track truth and stay true to the numbers. But it will self-consciously serve a greater purpose — educating YOU to be your own political strategist and start doing something — whether that’s blogging about your local Congressional race or Democratic corruption in your state, organizing fundraising drives, and maybe even managing races or running for office yourself. Only a revival of civic engagement at the grassroots level will create a conservative future we want: one that is pork-free and robust in the defense of our country and its values. We can’t call a switchboard and wait for Washington to fix the mess. We have to do it ourselves, from the ground up, in every state.

In that spirit, we’re opening the doors to anyone who wants to blog on The Next Right. Users will be able to create their own blogs on the site, an ability only a handful of conservative sites offer today. We’re also looking for a great stable of front-page writers who can write smart, savvy analysis on a consistent basis — email us if you think you fit the bill. We want to open this up as much as possible. It can’t just be about the three of us, or it will fail.

I’m pumped about this new venture. The last few months have seen a considerable amount of backchannel discussion between the thought leaders about the sorry state of online activism on the right — often with great agreement on a direction moving forward. The good news is that the talent is there. I’ve long relied on Soren and Jon for high-level political analysis, and by bringing it under one roof and opening the door to more people, we hope this quickly becomes a hub right-leaning junkies like you.   

We don’t think this alone will solve the activism gap. Anyone who tells you that they alone have the answer is fooling you. This is not “the Daily Kos of the right.” What we’re hoping to do is create momentum and an intellectual framework for action — because action ultimately starts with narratives and ideas. We want grassroots conservatives and libertarians to start believing that they can make a difference again — a sense all too many have lost. Only you – and not some well-funded 527 — can bring the movement into the future. Only when grassroots conservative have a direct stake in the future of the party are we effective. The Next Right is about creating a vision for a 21st century Republican Party and conservative movement.

On a personal note, you should finally see me blogging more, though not at PatrickRuffini.com. I’ve committed to moving all my purely political content to The Next Right, and will be setting up my RSS feed to automagically redirect you to my writings there. I’ll still keep some personal and tech stuff here, but most of my stuff will be there.

We hope you’ll join us in taking the next right.

From OneNewsNow.com: Obama's communist ties investigated


Obama's communist ties investigated
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow 


An investigative journalist and a national defense analyst are accusing Barack Obama of once having ties with members of the Communist Party USA.

 

Cliff Kincaid, president of America’s Survival, has teamed up with Herbert Romerstein, a former investigator with the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities. Both have compiled evidence of Obama's past ties with Communist Party figures.
 
Kincaid says while a teenager in Hawaii, Obama was mentored by a Communist Party USA member known as Frank Marshall Davis. "[H]e was a Stalinist agent. And this is a fellow who clearly had a major influence over a young Barack Obama," he points out.
 
Davis most likely filled Obama with anti-American thoughts and ideas, Kincaid contends.
 
Kincaid says their evidence then documents how Obama went off to college where he became friends with various Marxist professors and attended socialist conferences. After college, Obama returned to Chicago and began his political career. "And lo and behold, he lands right in the middle of another communist network," he continues.
 
According to Kincaid, this new association involved the former members of the Communist Students for a Democratic Society, and the Weather Underground terrorists Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers.
 
"[These people] ... launched Barack Obama's political career in their own home," he details. Kincaid hopes the media will ask Obama to explain his past associations with these individuals.

Latest from VFFPAC

Dear Vets for Freedom members:

Over the last few days, Vets for Freedom PAC has run two aggressive ads asking Senator Obama tough questions about why he is willing to meet with foreign dictators, but not to meet with General Petraeus or his veteran constituents. And last night, in a direct response to our efforts, the New York Timesreported that Senator Obama is now "considering" a trip to Iraq. We will work to ensure he makes the trip soon.

We are pleased that our efforts have received attention and support from media and political leaders alike. 
Vets for Freedom has beenattacked by Senator Obama’s campaign; however, Senator McCain has embraced our message, telling a crowd in Reno, NV yesterday: "Now, why is it that Senator Obama wants to sit down with the President of Iran, but hasn't yet sat down with General Petraeus – the leader of our troops in Iraq?"

This morning, Michele Malkin 
wrote: "Vets for Freedom is effective. The Left doesn’t like effective, independent voices in the political arena." Unfortunate, but true. 

As a result of this reality, rather than answer our substantive questions, outlets like the 
Huffington Post and New York Times called on Senators Lieberman and Graham to leave our Board of Advisors, because of the McCain campaign’s internal policy regarding outside groups.

As two of our strongest allies, Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman have been steadfast in their support of 
Vets for Freedom and our mission, and we are proud to call them friends. However, as they continue to work with Senator McCain on his campaign, they must take a "leave of absence" from the Vets for Freedom Board of Advisors to avoid any appearance of coordination.

This morning, both Senators sent us a very supportive letter, which you can read 
HERE. We thank Senators Graham and Lieberman for their continued support of the men and women of our armed forces, and appreciate their support of our organization. 

Regards,
 
Pete Hegseth
Chairman, 
Vets for Freedom PAC
Iraq war veteran, 101st Airborne Division

Big News from Move America Forward


As you've probably heard by now, Move America Forward has launched a drive to send the largest single shipment of care packages to U.S. troops - in history!

Today I am pleased to announce two very big additions to our effort. Talk radio legend, Rush Limbaugh, and television & radio personality Monica Crowley, have both signed on to support this drive and will be appearing on the June 26th 8-hour web-a-thon, "From the Frontlines." (The program will be streamed live online from 4:00pm - Midnight [Eastern] ... 1:00pm - 9:00 pm [Pacific] ).

Details follow below. For right now we need to keep selling more and more care package sponsorships so we can reach our historic goal!

Order online here: CLICK HERE to SPONSOR CARE PACKS FOR TROOPS





This event will be broadcast via live streaming video online at Ustream.TV. Check out the "From the Frontlines" page at U-Stream - HERE.

And we are also pleased to announce that we have retained Kithbridge, Inc. to set up a blog feed - as we enable the blogosphere to help drive this historic effort to support our military men and women.

Keep checking thewww.MoveAmericaForward.org website for exciting new announcements about our historic care package campaign in the coming days!

How Many Degrees of Separation from McClellan to Soros?

McClellan's Publisher a Liberal: Advances Soros & Slams Limbaugh

Photo of Brent Baker.
By Brent Baker May 29, 2008 - 02:35 ET

Peter Osnos, who wrote Wednesday that he “worked very closely” with Scott McClellan on McClellan's new book published by PublicAffairs which Osnos founded, is a liberal whose publishing house is affiliated with the far-left The Nation magazine and the publisher of The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder. PublicAffairs has a roster of authors who are nearly all liberals and/or liberal-leaning mainstream media figures,including six books by far-left bank-roller George Soros. On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, Ari Fleischer related that “Scott told me that his editor did 'tweak,' in Scott's word, a lot of the writing, especially in the last few months.” In an “Eat the Press” blog entry Wednesday,Rachel Sklar asked Osnos: “Did you work directly on the book with McClellan? (Who was his editor?)” Osnos replied: “The editor was Lisa Kaufman and yes, I worked very closely with them.”

A reporter and editor at the Washington Post during the 1970s and 1980s before going into book publishing, Osnos pens a weekly column for the left of center The Century Foundation. In a March column he denounced Rush Limbaugh as “bombastic, aggressive, and mean,”bemoaning how the late William F. Buckley Jr. left behind “a right-wing culture that tends to be as coarse and leaden as his demeanor could be buoyant,” charging Buckley provided “unfortunate cover to others who followed with a spirit that was distinctly and consistently malevolent.”

In contrast, he hailed the late left-wing columnist Molly Ivins and wished she had more impact: “In the contest for power in America, Molly Ivins had a good perch in her column, nearly perfect pitch, and, alas, too little influence.” Ruminating this week about the Kennedy family's legacy in the wake of Senator Ted Kennedy's cancer diagnosis, Osnos asserted that “we are a distinctly better country for the message” which “Ted conveyed about our priorities as a people.”

Amongst the authors Osnos has worked with at PublicAffairs and previously at Random House: Wesley Clark, Vernon Jordan, Robert McNamara, Andy Rooney, George Soros, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Sam Donaldson, Morley Safer, Molly Ivins and William Greider. Hard to find more than a few conservative names in the PublicAffairs list of authors.

At the moment, a George Soros book is displayed alongside the McClellan tome at the top of thePublicAffairs home page.

PublicAffairs is part of the Perseus Books Group, which also owns Nation Books, “a project of The Nation Institute” which publishes the magazine of the same name, and Vanguard Press, whose home page now features The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, a new book by Vincent Bugliosi that “presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq.”

The PublicAffairs bio for Osnos:

FOUNDER AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Peter Osnos was a correspondent around the world for The Washington Post and the newspaper's foreign and national editor. He was Associate Publisher and senior editor at Random House and publisher of Random House's Times Books division. In 1997, he founded PublicAffairs, an independent publishing company specializing in books of journalism, history, biography and social criticism. Among the authors he published at PublicAffairs are, Wesley Clark, Dorothy Height, Vernon Jordan, Wendy Kopp, Robert McNamara, Andy Rooney, Natan Sharansky, George Soros, Boris Yeltsin, and Muhammad Yunus, and journalists from America's leading publications and prominent scholars.

He is executive director of The Caravan Project, funded by the MacArthur Foundation, which is developing a plan for multi-platform publishing of books. He is Vice Chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review and is active in a number of other journalism and human rights organizations. He writes a regular media column that is distributed by the Century Foundation (www.TCF.org). He is a graduate of Brandeis and Columbia Universities. He lives in Greenwich CT with his wife Susan, a consultant to human rights organizations.

The Century Foundation's bio:

Senior Fellow for Media Program

Peter Osnos is the Founder and Editor-at-Large of PublicAffairs books. Previously, he was Publisher of Random House's Times Books Division from 1991 to 1996 and before that was a Vice President and Associate Publisher of the Random House imprint. Authors he has worked with include President Bill Clinton, former President Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, Boris Yeltsin, Paul Volcker, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Donald Trump, Clark Clifford, Sam Donaldson, Morley Safer, Peggy Noonan, Molly Ivins, Stanley Karnow, Jim Lehrer, William Novak, Vassily Aksyonov, and journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, and The Economist.

Before entering book publishing, Osnos spent nearly twenty years at The Washington Post, where he was variously Indochina Bureau Chief, Moscow Correspondent, Foreign Editor, National Editor, and London Bureau Chief. He has been a commentator and host for National Public Radio and a contributor to publications including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, and The New Republic. He served as Chair of the Trade Division of the Association of American Publishers, Chair of Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Committee and was a member of the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of The Columbia Journalism Review and Executive Director of The Caravan Project, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and based at TCF. A graduate of Brandeis University and the Columbia University School of Journalism, he lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife, Susan Osnos, who is a consultant for nonprofit organizations.

An excerpt from Osnos' May 28 column, as posted by The Century Foundation:

....The Kennedy saga is so rich a tale of melodrama and pain that it tends to overwhelm the real meaning of what it has meant to our politics and national spirit. We are a distinctly better country for the messages, each in their own way and time that JFK, RFK, and Ted conveyed about our priorities as a people. Regularly over the presidential cycles, "the next Kennedy" has been anointed, invariably ending with disappointment. There was Ted himself in 1980, Gary Hart in 1984 and 1988, and aspects of Clinton in 1992 and John Kerry (another JFK, after all) in 2004. It has happened again this year with Barack Obama, and this time the comparison may be genuinely valid....

Obama definitely has elements of JFK's style and eloquence as well as RFK's appeal to blacks and younger people. Ted Kennedy clearly feels a strong bond with Obama, as does his niece, Caroline, given their endorsement and the campaigning they have done on his behalf. Senator Kennedy has been the only member of his clan able to fulfill the potential of early promise (his son Patrick, in Congress; his nephew Joe, a former congressmen; his niece Kathleen, who ran and lost for a Senate seat, have had small impact so far). It is possible that with the Obama candidacy, as Ted Sorensen once wrote (or as, he insists, helped to write), "the torch has been passed to a new generation."

From his March 4 column:

....But the dominant voices of the Buckley succession are bombastic, aggressive, and mean -- O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter, among many others. They are despisers, whose vituperative name-calling regards alternative viewpoints as stupid, venal, or treasonous. The #1 bestseller on the New York Times bestseller list for March 9 is a quintessential example of the genre: Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning. It has sold about 50,000 copies in its first two months. Among his chapter headings are "Adolph Hitler: Man of the Left"; and "Brave New Village: Hillary Clinton and the Meaning of Liberal Fascism." His argument, as summarized in the Washington Post's review is that "fascists and liberals seek to use the state to solve the problems of modern society." Goldberg is an editor at the National Review Online. His mother, Lucianne Goldberg, made her name (and gave his a career boost) as the literary agent who urged Linda Tripp to tape her conversations with Monica Lewinsky. As vice-president of his mother's agency, Goldberg once wrote, he did his time "in the trenches of Clinton's trousers."

William F. Buckley is getting a splendid send-off as befits a long life of creative activity, discernible impact on the world around, him and extensive personal outreach. But in passing judgment on his influence, it is also fair to single out the sour side of what he leaves behind: a right-wing culture that tends to be as coarse and leaden as his demeanor could be buoyant. Buckley was excellent at what he did, giving unfortunate cover to others who followed with a spirit that was distinctly and consistently malevolent.

His September 18 column:

....We could sure use Molly Ivins's impeccable instincts about these expert opinions. Maybe this time, we'd listen. Molly was a populist in a splendid American tradition. One of her best columns opposing the invasion (the one in which she predicted civil war) was on the occasion of Martin Luther King Day in 2003.

"The war is not inevitable," she wrote "and the person who can stop it is you. Monday Jan. 20 is Dr. King's holiday. People all over the country will be rallying and marching in his honor, celebrating not only his eloquent opposition to racism and poverty, but his equally passionate protests against militarism. You get more than a vote in this country. You get to speak up."

In the contest for power in America, Molly Ivins had a good perch in her column, nearly perfect pitch, and, alas, too little influence.

Update 11:02 Matthew Sheffield. The media's lack of interest in pursuing the Soros angle of McClellan's story is a perfect contrast to Katie Couric's charge that former press secretary's critics were somehow coordinating "talking points."

It's also interesting to note that when it came to former Clinton admin officials writing tell-alls, the liberal press took a decidedly negative approach.

—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center

Thursday, May 29, 2008

SFBert Tells It Like It Is

SFBert originally posted this in the comments section, but since he is a member of the Cyber Crew and because this is such a good post - here it is for everyone to see. Cyber Pastor

1. Obama can be forgiven for getting his camps mixed up. To most folks it doesn't matter -- the crimes were equal in both places. My brother owns a copy of the photo evidence book used at the Nurenberg trials. He keeps it as a reminder that evil truly exists. An hour with the book alone will make the words, " The Nazis were evil" seem banal. 

2. The disgrace is that Obama took the opportunity to push his agenda, that the military are victims, on a day to honor the fallen. It is hard to explain to a non-veteran but Memorial Day is to honor the dead, not obliquely infer that if he were President, veteran's would be better treated. 

3. Regarding his uncle staying at home for six months after he returned -- maybe he just wanted to. One has to sort himself out after returning home. Everyday I drive past the VA Hospital grounds in Waco -- it's an enormous complex built for WWII psychiatric casualties. Help was there for the asking. God only knows when I go there, folks want me to take another and another PTSD evaluation. And when I refuse, they feel that is proof I have it -- because I deny it. One day I'll write about my theory about PTSD and why I think some folks get it and others going through worse don't. And will also write about the cottage industry set up within the VA to gin up diagnoses of it. In any case, help was available for Obama's grand-uncle, if he had wanted it. 

4. I've had my fill about hearing about how bad the economy is. Seems it was OK till 2006 when a Democrat Congress was seated. They can scream about the spend-thrift Republicans all they want, but the forget the days immediately after 9/11 when the economy shut down because we Americans were a bunch of whiny, worried wimps afraid to resume daily life. The spending and tax cuts got things going again and kept them going. I lived through Jimmy Carter's economy. To me the change Obamaites want looks awfully Carteresque. You want change? Great just you wait till you endure that change you wanted. Change can be for the worst also. 

5. This election cycle is absolutely depressing -- the bad (McCain), the worse (Clinton), and the worst (Obama). May God have mercy on us for being stupid and getting ourselves in this fix. The worst of it all, is that there's no where to run to to avoid what we're bringing on ourselves. Maybe I'll hide in my attic for the next four years. 

6. All this talk about Socialism ignores reality. Those pushing socialism are those who will best benefit personally from it. Look at Mexico -- the rich get richer, the poor carry everyone, and the middle class shrinks. Socialists prey on those who don't know human nature, on those who think that they can mandate a change in it, and those who join up for the benefit of being able to stay on the top. Where's the New Soviet Man today? 

7. The model for the modern USA isn't Imperial Rome as leftists like to compare us to -- it is ancient Athens circa the era of Alcibiades. Only now.

"Every Day is Memorial Day" - Another War Hero!


The following was the end of an email sent by my District Superintendent. I've deleted a couple of pieces of info to protect this person's privacy. 

This last Sunday I met another true hero.  His name is Mr. Mike, and he attends one of our churches.  He served in World War II.  His ship was sunk by the enemy fire and he and his buddies had seven minutes to get on a life raft before the ship sank.  Four of the men I believe were on Mike’s raft.  One soldier died and so Mr. Modejewski, and the others with him, were forced to throw the dead soldier in the ocean because of details I won’t go into in this E-mail.  

They survived for three days out in the ocean without any water or food except what fish they could catch.  Mr. Mike told us he used his T-shirt to catch fish with so they could eat them.  Finally after three days a plane came by and rescued them.  

There are thousands of stories like Mr. Mike’s where soldiers have suffered and died so that we could have our freedom.  Of course, as I write this, thousands of Americans are in harms way defending our freedom.  May God be with them all.  They also are heroes! 

"Undeniable Truths"

Thanks to Groovy Lady for this piece. You can find it at this link:

From the 'Lectric Law Library's stacks
Rush Limbaugh's Original & Updated 35 'Undeniable Truths'


The "Undeniable Truths" were part of an article he wrote for the Sacramento Union back in 1988. 

Here they are:  

1. The greatest threat to humanity lies in the nuclear arsenal of the USSR.  
2. The greatest threat to humanity lies in the USSR.  
3. Peace does not mean the elimination of nuclear weapons.  
4. Peace does not mean the absence of war.  
5. War is not obsolete.  
6. Ours is a world governed by the aggressive use of force.  
7. There is only one way to get rid of nuclear weapons - use them.  
8. Peace cannot be achieved by developing a "understanding" with the Russian People.  
9. When Americans oppose America, it is not always courageous and sacred; it is sometimes dangerous.  
10. Communism Kills.  
11. Neither the US, nor anyone else, imposes freedom on the peoples of other nations.  
12. Freedom is God given.  
13. In the USSR, peace means the absence of opposition.  
14. To free peoples, peace means the absence of threats and the presence of justice.  
15. The Peace Movement in the US, whether by accident or design, is pro-Communist.  
16. The collective knowledge and wisdom of seasoned citizens is the most valuable, yet untapped, 
resource our young-people have.  
17. The greatest football team in the history of civilization is the Pittsburgh Steelers of 1975-1980.  
18. There is no such thing as war atrocities.  
19. War itself is an atrocity.  
20. There is a God.  
21. Abortion is wrong. 
22. Morality is not defined and cannot be defined by individual choice.  
23. Evolution cannot explain Creation.  
24. Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women access to the mainstream of society.  
25. Love is the only human emotion that cannot be controlled.  
26. The only difference between Mikhail Gorbachev and previous Soviet leaders, is that 
Gorbachev is alive. 
27. Soviet Leaders are just left-wing dictators.  
28. Abe Lincoln saved this nation.  
29. The L.A. Raiders will never be the team that they were when they called Oakland their home. 
30. The US will again go to war.  
31. To more and more people, a victorious US is a sinful US.  
32. This is frightening and ominous.  
33. There will always be poor people.  
34. This is not the fault of the rich.  
35. You should thank God for making you an American; and instead of feeling guilty about it, 
help spread our ideas worldwide.  

Rush has updated this list, many of the "old" UTOL having become somewhat dated (but no less true for
being in the past tense!) As read by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show, Friday, February 18, 1994:  
(All equally truthful: number 1 is not more or less important than 35.)  

1. There is a distinct singular American culture - rugged individualism and self-reliance - which made 
America great.  
2. The vast majority of the rich in this country did not inherit their wealth; they earned it. They are the 
country's achievers, producers, and job creators.  
3. No nation has ever taxed itself into prosperity.  
4. Evidence refutes liberalism.  
5. There is no such thing as a New Democrat.  
6. The Earth's eco-system is not fragile.  
7. Character matters; leadership decends from character.  
8. The most beautiful thing about a tree is what you do with it after you cut it down.  
9. Ronald Reagan was the greatest president of the twentieth century.  
10. The 1980s was not a decade of greed but a decade of prosperity; it was the longest period 
of peacetime growth in American history.  
11. Abstinence prevents sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy -every time it's tried.  
12. Condoms only work during the school year.  
13. Poverty is not the root ("rut") cause of crime.  
14. There's a simple way to solve the crime problem: obey the law; punish those who do not.  
15. If you commit a crime, you are guilty.  
16. Women should not be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud.  
17. The way to improve our schools is not more money, but the reintroduction of moral and 
spiritual values, as well as the four "R's": reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic, and Rush.  
18. I am not arrogant.  
19. My first 35 Undeniable Truths are still undeniably true.  
20. There is a God.  
21. There is something wrong when critics say the problem with America is too much religion.  
22. Morality is not defined by individual choice.  
23. The only way liberals win national elections is by pretending they're not liberals. 
24. Feminism was established as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.  
25. Follow the money. When somebody says, "It's not the money," it's always the money.  
26. Liberals attempt through judicial activism what they cannot win at the ballot box.  
27. Using federal dollars as a measure, our cities have not been neglected, but poisoned with 
welfare dependency funds.  
28. Progress is not striving for economic justice or fairness, but economic growth.  
29. Liberals measure compassion by how many people are given welfare. Conservatives measure 
compassion by how many people no longer need it.  
30. Compassion is no substitute for justice.  
31. The culture war is between the winners and those who think they're losers who want to become 
winners. The losers think the only way they can become winners is by banding together all the losers 
and then empowering a leader of the losers to make things right for them.  
32. The Los Angeles riots were not caused by the Rodney King verdict. The Los Angeles riots 
were caused by rioters.  
33. You could afford your house without your government - if it weren't for your government.  
34. Words mean things.  
35. Too many Americans can't laugh at themselves anymore.  

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