Free Speech Ends In Beruit

In “post-Syrian” Lebanon, militia groups Hezbollah and Amal are taking over parts of Beruit, as the Lebanese Army stands and watches:

MEMRI:

This week, the Lebanese government made a series of decisions deeming Hizbullah’s communications network to be both illegal and intolerable.

In response, armed forces, primarily from Amal but also from Hizbullah, took to the streets of Beirut, cutting off roads, mostly those leading to the airport; paralyzing life in the city; clashing with the army in western Beirut; besieging the homes of March 14 forces leaders; and attacking and damaging the building housing Future TV, which belongs to Sa’ad Al-Hariri, a March 14 Forces leader forcing the station to halt broadcasting.

TV footage shows that the Lebanese army did not undertake a major counter-operation against the Amal and Hizbullah militias. The militias of the Christians and Druze did not respond at all, while the militia of Sa’ad Al-Hariri, representing Sunni Muslims in Lebanon, reacted in a limited manner. These responses coincided with the unions’ declaration of a general strike, which was later cancelled.

The real objective of Hezbollah’s is to silence the media in Lebanon:

All over Lebanon, in Beirut, In Tripoli, in Saida, and in Bekaa, Iranian and Syrian allies are targeting the media organizations that are critical of their regimes. This is an orchestrated, pre-planned campaign that includes dismantling hardware, destroying archives and intimidating Journalists.

Watch this video of an eloquent Lebanese journalist speaking out. She starts out calmly, but becomes increasingly impassioned as she continues to describe the events taking place in her country:

From Atlas Shrugs:

Please do everything you can to spread the word and be part of this:

Bloggers and Website owners

Email with the text below to politicians, newspapers and anyone you know who might have access to international media.

Hidden under the coverage of explosions, smoke and gunmen roaming Beirut is the real story: Hezbollah and its backers in Syria and Iran can’t stand any voice that freely express a different point of view. The guns were dispatched to silence the voice. All over Lebanon, in Beirut, In Tripoli, in Saida, and in Bekaa, Iranian and Syrian allies are targeting the media organizations that are critical of their regimes. This is an orchestrated, pre-planned campaign that includes dismantling hardware, destroying archives and intimidating Journalists. We shall not accept tampering with the free exchange of ideas, the main foundation of any democracy.

Hat tips: Gateway Pundit

Flight 93 Memorial Blogburst #31

Crescent shapes with and without Islamic intent: the Obama logo example

The two most widely recognized symbols of Islam are the crescent and the sword. Kind of amusing that Barack Hussein Obama’s campaign logo can be seen to feature both a crescent and a curved Islamic scimitar:

The crescent shape in Obama’s logo has the round part on top, just like a traditional crescent shaped mihrab (the Mecca direction indicator around which every mosque is built). The animation shows the two most famous mihrabs in the world: the mihrab from the Great Mosque in Cordoba, and the Prophet’s mihrab in Medina.

The lighter vertical column in the center-bottom of the logo, presumably meant to indicate reflected light, even conveys the full vertical shape of a traditional mihrab. The scimitar in the animation is from the flag of the Bosnian regiment of the Nazi SS.

If Obama himself had come up with this crescent logo, one might suspect Islamic intent, given his Islamic heritage. But the logo was not designed by Obama. It was designed by a Chicago based branding firm named Sender, which claims credit for coming up with: “a white sunrise against a blue sky, over a landscape implied by red and white stripes.”

Obama definitely deserves to be made fun of for having a fairly obvious crescent shape in his logo, given his efforts to convince the public that he is not Muslim. This is already an uphill climb, when both his grandmother and his cousin are telling documented lies about their religion, claiming to be Christian in one venue while professing themselves Muslim in another. Lying about being Christian: it’s an Obama family tradition!

Still, there is no indication that the crescent and scimitar shapes in Obama’s logo are intended to convey any Islamic meaning. A genuine coincidence apparently. At the opposite pole is the Crescent of Embrace design for the Flight 93 memorial:

Contrast 1: Architect Paul Murdoch CALLS his crescent shaped memorial a crescent

The Crescent of Embrace name proves that the Flight 93 crescent was and is intended to be seen as a crescent. Only very reluctantly did the Memorial Project change the name, and the changes they made to the design are purely cosmetic. Every particle of the original Crescent of Embrace design remains completely intact in the Bowl of Embrace redesign.

Contrast 2: The Islamic symbolism is overt

It is not plausible that an architect, designing a memorial to people murdered by Islamic terrorists, could be oblivious to the fact that his memorial design is laid out in the shape of a bare naked Islamic crescent and star flag, readily identifiable as a crescent and star flag to airliners like Flight 93 passing overhead.

The Memorial Project simply assumes that the Islamic symbol shapes CAN’T be intentional, which is about like seeing an airliner fly into the World Trade Center and assuming it CAN’T be intentional. Do these people even remember the day they are supposed to be memorializing?

Contrast 3: The Flight 93 crescent contains still further Islamic symbolism

It turns out that the giant crescent points to Mecca. A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is a well known structure in the Islamic world. It is a mihrab (as seen in the above animation), which gives the direction that Muslims are to face for prayer.

Everyone at the Memorial Project is fully aware that a person facing into the giant crescent will be facing almost exactly at Mecca. This according to Flight 93 Advisory Commission member Tim Baird. Again, they all just assume that this MUST be an innocent mistake (the equivalent of seeing as SECOND airliner fly into the Trade Center, and STILL assuming it can’t POSSIBLY be intentional).

Contrast 4: Proof of intent

Paul Murdoch PROVES that the Mecca orientation is intentional by repeating it in the crescents of trees that surround the minaret like Tower of Voices. Below is an animated run-through of the repeated Mecca-orientations (2 minutes).

You can restart the animation by refreshing the page:

Animated GIF: copy and paste. You can email it! (Animation restarts each time email is opened.) Click image for larger animation, if your connection is fast enough (1MB).

Crescent of Embrace site-plan, showing both the central crescent and the Tower of Voices, here.

Contrast 5: the designer’s own thematic description is clearly terrorist memorializing

The designers of Obama’s logo offer a clearly innocent thematic description of their creation. You can tell just by looking at it what it is MEANT to signify: a white sun coming up into a blue sky over red and white rows of fruited plain. Even the uncanny intimation of the vertical sides of a traditional mihrab are fully explained by the “sun” reflecting off the red and white “landscape.”

In contrast, Paul Murdoch’s thematic account of his design is as nakedly pro-terrorist as his crescent and star layout. Murdoch says that the crescent comes from the terrorists breaking the circle. That is, they broke our liberty-loving circle, and turn it into a giant Islamic-shaped Mecca-oriented crescent.

As Tom Burnett Sr. put it in his letter to American people, asking for help with our petition to keep the crescent design off of his murdered son’s gravesite:

I don’t want to celebrate the terrorist’s circle-breaking crescent-creating feat.

And lest anyone thinks that the giant crescent is no longer present, the Park Service website makes clear that, while the redesign looks more like a circle, the circle is still broken:

The circle is broken in two places that mark the southeastern path of the plane to the crash site. The circle is broken at the entry to the memorial and at the crash site.

The breaks are in the exact same places as before and the unbroken part of the circle (the crescent) remains completely unchanged. It it still points to Mecca. It is still the world’s largest mihrab by a factor of a hundred. The only difference is that now a chunk of the broken off part of the circle is included in the design, which is perfectly consistent with its original terrorist memorializing theme. The terrorists still break our liberty-loving circle and still turn it into a giant Mecca-oriented crescent.

So there you have it. Dueling crescents! Obama’s crescent logo exemplifies innocent coincidence (however guilty Obama may be of lying about his religion). In contrast, the Flight 93 crescent exemplifies proven intent. (More of architect Paul Murdoch’s endless proofs of intent here and here.)

Written by: Alec Rawls, Error Theory

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We Have Some Planes

I would Have Made The Same Mistake.

And mistakes like this one can be expensive:

A popular restaurant has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit with a lesbian who said a bouncer chased her out of the women’s bathroom and forced her to leave because she looked masculine.

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund announced the settlement Tuesday on behalf of Khadijah Farmer.

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund ….Gad.

The Caliente Cab Company, while denying the allegations, also agreed to add gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy, amend its employee handbook with a section on customer restroom use and adopt a gender-neutral employee dress code.

The old “sensitivity training” rigamorale.

Farmer said the confrontation at the Greenwich Village eatery occurred June 24 after she attended New York City’s annual Gay Pride march.

According to a story from last year, the bouncer accosted her in the bathroom after a woman who saw her going in complained. She tried to show the bouncer her ID:

The bouncer refused to believe that Farmer was a woman even after she emerged from the stall and attempted to show him her driver’s license, she said.

“He totally dismissed that,” she said, adding that the bouncer told her “he wanted me out of his bathroom and restaurant.”

Farmer was then led out of the restaurant - and her friends were made to pay the bill for their abbreviated meal, she said.

It sounds like the bouncer thought he had a pervert on his hands, and just wanted him out.

Look. It’s really simple. If you’re a chick…dress like one if you want to be able to use public restrooms. If you look like a dude when you enter a women’s restroom you are going to alarm people. That is not their fault. That is your fault. Same thing applies with cross dressing guys. I’m surprised we haven’t seen more cases like these.

Am I the only one who is getting sick of people behaving inappropriately in public, and expecting everyone to just suck it up, or else?

Hat tip: Crime Scene KC

The United States Redneck Special Forces

BUMPED (May 14):

This post has been a reliable hit magnet since it was first posted last July, and since I’ve made some recent additions, and I don’t have time for anything else at the moment, I’ve decided to bump it.

The United States Redneck Special Forces:

The Pentagon announced TODAY the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF).

These boys will be dropped off in Iraq and have been given only the following facts about terrorists:

1. The season opened today.
2. There is no limit.
3. They taste just like chicken.
4. They don’t like beer, pickups, country music or Jesus.
5 . They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt .

The Pentagon expects the problem in Iraq to be over by Friday.

Hat tip: My Hubby, who emailed this to me. I didn’t write any part of this.

UPDATE (January 18, 2008):

News from the field:

Being a USRSF operative in the mid-east mud-flap brigade, I have to say that it feels darn good to finally get some recognition up in this Mo-Fo. Things have been getting a little dicey around these parts as of late. We ran out of Kodiak around last October and the Iraqi chew taste like something out of a Eddie Murphy Love Pump. Although, a tin of Skoal did save Cpl. Billy’s life in a most unexpected way.
We appreciate the warm Milwaukee’s Best light you all been shipping out monthly, as well as the Yosemite Sam tank tops. I will update you further in the upcoming weeks, but for now, I got me a Sherpa to molest. Later.

UPDATE:

USRSF Sgt. Cletus inspects the troops’ improvised beer can batons:

Wednesday’s Hero: Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Davila

Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Davila

From Sierra Vista, Arizona

On the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States, Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Davila raised an American flag over Camp Korean Village, Iraq, he brought with him from Arizona.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, Sierra Vista firefighter and emergency medical technician Chris Davila presented that flag to Fire Chief Randy Redmond as fellow firefighters looked on. Monday, May 5, 2008, was Davila’s first day back on the job with the department after being gone for nearly nine months, with seven of those months deployed as a Navy Reserve corpsman serving with a Marine unit near the Jordanian and Syrian border area in Iraq.

And, as luck would have it, on his first shift saw him responding to a blaze in Sierra Vista. “Right back to work,” he said with a laugh.

You can read the rest of PO 2nd Class Davila’s story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

By Indian Chris, Right Wing & Right Minded

‘Change You Can Believe In’ Part Two

Yesterday I wondered what had changed to make Barack Obama suddenly decide that wearing a flag lapel pin was a cool idea, after all.

Byron York wondered the same thing this morning, and found these revealing photos of Obama:

Here he is leaving the U.S. Capitol, yesterday. (No pin):

And here he is right before his event in Cape Girardeau, MO, same day. (Oh look —pin!)

Hahahaha. Gotta love it.

Fireworks In Phoenix….3-2-1-

The Democrat Governor, Janet  Napolitano has figured out a way to stop illegal immigrant busting sheriff Joe Arpaio:

Much of the money for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration-enforcement efforts lately has poured out of a special pool of state money.

But New Times has learned that Governor Janet Napolitano’s turning off the spigot.

In what appears to be a prelude to a major fight between Napolitano and Arpaio, the governor issued an executive order last week to develop a new task force–headed up by the state Department of Public Safety–to find and arrest tens of thousands of felons with outstanding warrants.

And, according to a letter from DPS Director Roger Vanderpool to Arpaio outlining the new effort, the task force will be funded with the money that Arpaio isn’t getting anymore.

I think we’ll be hearing more about this fairly soon.

Reverend Hagee Apologizes To Catholics

Whoop-de-doo.

I never saw this story as McCain’s own lunatic Pastor counterpart to Obama’s lunatic Pastor Reverend Wright.

But the nutroots did.

To their addled minds, a goofy, anti-Catholic preacher with a large following who endorses a candidate is the same as…nay, worse than a malicious, racist, Marxist with a large following (that actually includes the candidate) endorsing said candidate.

Yes, Reverend Hagee has had some bizarre things to say about Catholics. Most Catholics are aware that there are fundamentalists out there who consider the Catholic church “The whore of Babylon” and whatnot. Such people are annoying, but not dangerous. And although it’s impossible to know how much hate is preached from the pulpit in these churches, one can easily imagine that some unfortunate anti-Catholic rhetoric peppers some of the sermons. But one can not easily imagine them rising to the level of Reverend Wright’s shocking hate-speech.

That said, there is also the obvious difference between accepting an endorsement from a questionable Pastor (while repudiating his anti-Catholic pronouncements), and being closely associated with a problematic Pastor, (in fact, having him on your campaign’s ’spiritual advisory’ committee), and being an active member of his congregation for 15+ years. Then, (finally!) throwing him under the bus only after he embarrasses you in public.

See?…there’s a minor difference there.

Still, I looked into the Reverend Hagee story, myself about a month ago, (out of curiosity) and found this story in Catholic Online, by Deal Hudson, some of which I’ll share with you, here:

A few days ago I met with Hagee and his wife, Diana, in New York City for a three-hour conversation.

The meeting came at the suggestion of a mutual friend who was concerned both for Hagee’s reputation and the relations between Evangelicals and Catholics. My friend, a national religious leader himself, told me, “John Hagee is my friend, and he is a good man. Also, it would be a pity if a wedge was driven between conservative Catholics and Evangelicals on the eve of the 2008 election.”

-snip-

Since I had been critical of Hagee myself, I thought it reasonable that I sit down with him and discuss the anti-Catholicism charge. As a young man I was also an Evangelical from Texas, and I knew I could find some common ground with him — and maybe find out more about what appeared to be an open-and-shut case. (I called Donohue to tell him that a meeting had been proposed, and Bill said he appreciated my letting him know.)

Next, I contacted Hagee. He seemed genuinely hurt that he was being seen by the nation as anti-Catholic. He said, “Deal, how can people think I am anti-Catholic when my wife is an ex-Catholic, and a third of my congregation are former Catholics?” I bit my tongue. We really needed to talk; there were some things about Catholics he truly didn’t understand.

When we met later, I told Hagee about “biting my tongue,” and he looked surprised. I explained that Catholics don’t like being reminded of all those who have left the Church. As he started to nod in agreement, his wife Diana said, “He’s right, John.” She would repeat that sentence several times during our long conversation, and each time her husband would acquiesce in agreement.

You’ll want to read the rest of this edifying story. Because when you hear someone come out with a big apology, and there are political stakes on the line… it’s very easy to be, well….dubious of the sincerity. Yet when Hagee says:

“Out of a desire to advance greater unity among Catholics and Evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful. After engaging in constructive dialogue with Catholic friends and leaders, I now have an improved understanding of the Catholic Church, its relation to the Jewish faith, and the history of anti-Catholicism.”

I tend to believe him, after having read that article.

And, again, a compare and contrast is in order. What did Reverend Wright do when his teachings came under fire? Did he apologize, engage in constructive dialog with those who were criticizing him, or take any of it back?

Oh, HELL no. He just reiterated his words more forcefully.

Anyway, Bill Donahue of the Catholic League has accepted Reverend Hagee’s apology, saying:

“The tone of Hagee’s letter is sincere. He wants reconciliation and he has achieved it. Indeed, the Catholic League welcomes his apology. What Hagee has done takes courage and quite frankly I never expected him to demonstrate such sensitivity to our concerns. But he has done just that. Now Catholics, along with Jews, can work with Pastor Hagee in making interfaith relations stronger than ever. Whatever problems we had before are now history. This case is closed.”

Got that nutroots?

CASE CLOSED.

PS: The Obama/Wright Case?

NOT CLOSED!

Obama’s Rules

Well, Rich Lowery’s piece, Obama’s Rules, is being commented on all over the net today, so I thought I’d weigh in. First, here are the rules as spelled out by Rich:

He can’t be called a “liberal” (“the same names and labels they pin on everyone,” as Obama puts it); his toughness on the war on terror can’t be questioned (“attempts to play on our fears”); his extreme positions on social issues can’t be exposed (“the same efforts to distract us from the issues that affect our lives” and “turn us against each other”); and his Chicago background too is off-limits (“pouncing on every gaffe and association and fake controversy”). Besides that, it should be a freewheeling and spirited campaign.

Democrats always want cultural issues not to matter because they are on the least-popular side of many of them, and want patriotic symbols like the Pledge of Allegiance and flag pins to be irrelevant when they can’t manage to nominate presidential candidates who wholeheartedly embrace them (which shouldn’t be that difficult). As for “fear” and “division,” they are vaporous pejoratives that can be applied to any warning of negative consequences of a given policy or any political position that doesn’t command 100 percent assent. In his North Carolina speech, Obama said the Iraq war “has not made us safer,” and that McCain’s ideas are “out of touch” with “American values.” How fearfully divisive.

Any deviations from these rules will be attacked as distractions, racism, or fear mongering.

Needless to say (I hope)…Nice Deb will not be deterred. I will continue to carry on as I have, pointing out every objectionable thing I discover about the man.

And I will unhelpfully laugh at his gaffes, too.

Sadly, I can see McCain obediently and enthusiastically following Obama’s rules, but is it too much to hope that the RNC demur?

Change You Can Believe In

Obama, fall ‘07:

“You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we’re talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security, I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest.

“Instead,” Obama added rather grandiosely, “I’m going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism.”

Obama, Spring ‘08:

Pennsylvania:

West Virginia:

Barack Obama sported a flag lapel pin and talked up patriotism Monday as he campaigned in blue-collar West Virginia. He also shot a solid game of pool.

So what changed?

Obama, Wright, Hamas, Hezbollah, And Voo Doo!

So I’ve been reading up on that Obama campaign adviser who threw himself under the bus, recently. He was becoming a “distraction” because of his ties to Hamas.

Robert Malley, an employee of the International Crisis Group, said he served as an “informal” Middle East adviser to Obama. He told NBC News this past weekend he decided to step down after the Times of London inquired about whether he had contacts with Hamas.

Turns out his support for Hamas was well known, and ongoing:

Malley has penned numerous opinion articles, many of them co-written with a former adviser to the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, petitioning for dialogue with Hamas and blasting Israel for numerous policies he says harm the Palestinian cause.

In February 2006, after Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament and amid a U.S. and Israeli attempt to isolate the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority, Malley wrote an op-ed for the Baltimore Sun advocating international aid to the terror group’s newly formed government.

In numerous other op-eds, Malley advocates a policy of engagement with Hamas.

Hamas is responsible for scores of deadly shootings, suicide bombings and rocket attacks aimed at Jewish civilian population centers. The past few weeks alone, Hamas militants took credit for firing more than 200 rockets into Israel.

Hamas’ official charter calls for the murder of Jews and destruction of Israel.

Naturally it’s totally unfair to surmise that having Robert Malley, as Obama’s Middle East adviser in any way reflects Obama’s views. Why would anybody think that?

Well, (this is just a distraction, and all), but It should be remembered that Obama’s church, TUCC published a “Hamas Terror Manifesto” in its church newsletter, The Trumpet.

It also published an insane article by a Palestinian activist about how Israel was an “apartheid” regime with claims that the Jewish state worked on an “ethnic bomb” that kills “blacks and Arabs.”

It turns out that TUCC also has a soft spot for Hezbollah. Who would have thunk it?

Again in the church newsletter, The Trumpet:

U.S. Must Stop Middle East Violence

The escalating Middle East violence and the continued bombing of Lebanon and Gaza is threatening regional stability. Though appeals have gone out from the religious community for the United States and other world leaders to intervene diplomatically, as of Wednesday when the TUCC bulletin is published, the U.S. refuses to call for a cease-fire. Instead, the U.S. is increasing arms shipments to Israel and Congress has passed resolutions declaring unconditional support for Israel’s devastating military campaigns.

More at Sweetness and Light, who have apparently been pouring over past Trumpet newsletters to find such gems as Reverend Wright’s impassioned plea for tolerance of practitioners of Santeria, (otherwise known as Voo Doo!), and a quaint little poem written for the five year anniversary of 9/11.

Apparently, Obama is one of those people who doesn’t read the church newsletter. Or maybe he just skimmed through it quickly, to see when the next prayer meeting would be. ‘Cause Obama’s just a praying fool!

UPDATE:

Well, here’s an interesting turn of events. In The Atlantic, today Obama tells us that Israel is a “constant wound… a constant sore…” that “infects foreign policy”.

Asked if he was “flummoxed” by Hamas’ endorsement, he answers:

I wasn’t flummoxed. I think what is going on there is the same reason why there are some suspicions of me in the Jewish community. Look, we don’t do nuance well in politics and especially don’t do it well on Middle East policy. We look at things as black and white, and not gray. It’s conceivable that there are those in the Arab world who say to themselves, “This is a guy who spent some time in the Muslim world, has a middle name of Hussein, and appears more worldly and has called for talks with people, and so he’s not going to be engaging in the same sort of cowboy diplomacy as George Bush,” and that’s something they’re hopeful about. I think that’s a perfectly legitimate perception as long as they’re not confused about my unyielding support for Israel’s security.

Oh ho ho ho!!!

Isn’t that basically what John McCain said about Hamas’ endorsement of Obama:

“It’s indicative of how some of our enemies view America. And I guarantee you, they’re not going to endorse me.”

Except when McCain says it, he’s accused of being a man losing his bearings. And when Obama says it, it’s somehow a positive thing.

The American Thinker:

No one is right or wrong, it’s all “gray” and he’s just the guy to let everyone know. What is jaw-dropping, however, is his assumption that Hamas might be impressed with his “worldly” outlook. That’s what Hamas has been searching for: someone who is worldly. And notice the evasion he employs (”talks with people”) to escape stating the obvious: they are thrilled he’s offered direct talks with their sponsor and Holocaust denier Ahmejinidad.

Catholic Universities Eschew Political Commencement Speakers

This is good news. Politicians like John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, and Teddy Kennedy are no longer welcome speakers for Catholic college and university commencement addresses. Kathryn Jean Lopez at The Corner reports:

After repeatedly getting criticized by conservative Catholics, and after years of pressure from the Vatican and some American bishops, Catholic colleges and universities are now shying away from politicians - especially those who, like Kennedy, Kerry, and Pelosi, support abortion rights - as commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients.

Instead, the schools are scrutinizing the public records of potential honorees for evidence of open dissent from key church teachings, especially on abortion, and they are choosing noncontroversial church insiders or nonpolitical figures for their most prominent honors. “I think there’s a concerted effort to use the moment of naming people who reinforce the Catholic identity of our institutions, and I’m pleased by that,” Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston said in an interview.

Kudos to The Cardinal Newman Society , for keeping the pressure on wayward Catholic universities.

The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave

So it seems that finally, the Democrat primary race is winding down, with Obama the presumptive nominee. Obama is shifting his focus to McCain, as Hillary battles on, seemingly unaware that the powers that be have already counted her out. But of course she does realize that she’s down for the count. The question on everyone’s mind is…’Why does she continue to campaign?’

One explanation is that she’s in it now for 2012, which of course benefits McCain. The other….scarier explanation is that she is gunning for a high profile spot in Obama’s cabinet; possibly his VP pick. This of course would be a nightmare scenario for Republicans because it would unite two Democrat constituencies that were previously at odds with each other. This of course is the smartest and most obvious move, but one that insiders are saying Obama will resist because of his dislike for Hillary.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that according to Bill Clinton, Hillary and McCain are “close”. Remember this story from January?:

“She and John McCain are very close,” Clinton said. “They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other.”

Sens. McCain and Clinton last met publicly at an ABC debate earlier January, when presidential candidates of both parties shared the same stage. The two were seen exchanging pleasantries, and a Clinton side said she told the Arizona senator he’d done a “good job” staging a comeback in New Hampshire. He asked that she say hello to Bill Clinton for him.

I don’t think she has any warm feelings for Obama. Still, I tend to agree with Charles Krauthammer who predicts that this is what is coming:

There’s only one remaining chapter in this fascinating spectacle. Negotiating the terms of Hillary’s surrender. After which we will have six months of watching her enthusiastically stumping for Obama, denying with utter conviction GOP charges that he is the out of touch, latte-sipping elitist she warned Democrats against so urgently in the last, late leg of her doomed campaign.

At any rate, she’s making Democratic leaders nervous because she’s forcing Obama to spend his precious time and money on his primary fight against her, instead of the general election fight against McCain. She’s also been hitting him where it hurts with her “late leg of her doomed campaign” urgent warnings to the superdelegates: He’s not as electable as she is.

Meanwhile, on the McCain front, a couple of positive developments:

1. He seems to have a kick-ass top adviser in Mark Salter, who continues to impress.

2. Rush Limbaugh seems to be coming around.

Now if only we can get Ann Coulter on board.

Planned Parenthood Sends Out Mother’s Day Fund-Raiser Emails

Please help us Prevent More Women From Becoming Mothers:

With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, has a message for moms: send us more money. Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, sent out a fund-raising request this week one pro-life advocate says is grotesque.

Richards honored Mother’s Day by sharing part of an editorial her daughter wrote saying she got her pro-abortion views from her mother and grandmother, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards.

“It’s true that I have had lots of rewarding moments in my career. So did my mother,” Cecile wrote in the email LifeNews.com obtained. “But knowing that my daughter is carrying on the legacy of fighting that my mother passed to me trumps ‘em all.”

Richard couldn’t wait until the third paragraph of her Mother’s Day letter to PPFA supporters to ask them to open their wallets.

“This Mother’s Day, I’m honoring that legacy with a Planned Parenthood Federation of America Mother’s Day gift. Join me,” she wrote.

“You can help with a gift to Planned Parenthood Federation of America today in honor of your mother or daughter, and on behalf of all the women,” she added.

Pro-life blogger Jill Stanek called Richard’s exploitation of Mother’s Day for pro-abortion money-making purposes “grotesque” and said she couldn’t believe Richards would stoop to “using her dead mother and daughter as props.”

“This pathetic woman is so psychologically and emotionally invested in abortion she has no semblance of conscience left,” Stanek said. “If and when she has grandchildren, I’m sure she’ll use them too.”

It’s grotesque alright. Asking women around the Mother’s Day holiday to send them money so they can prevent other women from becoming mothers…by destroying their babies, is downright Orwellian.

Richards said passing on her pro-abortion mantra to her daughter Hannah and her younger children Lily and Daniel is “the best gift any mother can give her children.”

The mind reels…the best gift she can leave her children is the teaching that abortion is a wonderful right? “I had the right to kill you, but “chose” not to…isn’t choice neat-o?”

In the email, Richards also admitted that promoting abortion was more important to her mother than even promoting equal rights for African-Americans.

“In all of my mother’s activism — from the civil rights movement to the ERA — nothing meant more to her,” she said.

“I’m proud that, as the leader of Planned Parenthood, I get the opportunity every day to carry forward work that honors her and honors all who came before her,” Richards concluded.

“And, I’m proud that my own children carry on that legacy. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

Good lord. Planned Parenthood does all it can to deny such legacies.

Stanek said abortion advocates can leave no legacy to children and grandchildren because they’ve been responsible for the deaths of 50 million of them.

Exactly. The ghouls.

A Patriotic Lapel Pin Even Obama Would Love

Check it out over at Suitably Flip.

The reason I haven’t said anything about this latest gaffe of Obama’s is because everybody knows these slips of the tongue on the campaign trail happen to all politicians at one time or another.

A couple of thoughts, though, first the most obvious one: If McCain had said this, it would have been covered exhaustively in newspapers all across the country; it would have been evidence of him being an old man “losing his bearings”, and it would haunt him relentlessly all the way to election day. Obama says it, and of course he receives howls and cat-calls from the right-wing blogosphere, but it doesn’t receive a great amount of attention from the MSM. Because it’s just evidence of a man fatigued from too many days on the campaign trail. Which is what it is….but wouldn’t be if McCain had said it.

Second…where did he even get the 57 number? What the heck? At first I thought, “Maybe he means 57 cities?” But surely he’s been to more cities than that. I mean….???

UPDATE:

Possible answers:

1. Liberal commenters from all across the internets are saying “he was clearly joking”.

2. Hmmmmm.

3. (Most likely): He meant 47 states. He has one left + Alaska & Hawaii that he “wasn’t allowed to go to.” That’s all 50.

Not a joke, just a misstatement.

Thanks Geoff.

UPDATE:

Weird Coincidence!

Guess how many FBI officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty, last year?

That’s right.