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!

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.

Al Franken’s Senatorial Campaign On The Skids

Thanks to an intrepid Minnesota Republican blogger:

Senate candidate Al Franken wants to talk about jobs, health care and global warming. Republican blogger Michael Brodkorb wants to talk about Franken’s failure to pay all his income taxes on time.

Guess what everyone is talking about?

From the kitchen table in his tranquil suburban neighborhood, Brodkorb for the last year has used his blog “Minnesota Democrats Exposed” to launch a furious political assault on Franken. He’s labeled the former comedian and liberal commentator a “mean-spirited and un-Minnesotan” candidate who’s running a “desperate and ridiculous” campaign.

“Un-Minnesotan” means “not nice”.

That’s routine stuff in the world of political blogging, but in the last two months Brodkorb has scored two direct hits that have the Franken campaign reeling. Brodkorb scooped the traditional media by detailing extensive bookkeeping problems in New York and California that ultimately prompted Franken, this week, to pay about $70,000 in back taxes to 17 states.

The stories have knocked Franken off balance as he prepares to take on Sen. Norm Coleman, in what’s expected to be one of the most expensive and toughest-fought U.S. Senate races this year.

Which is excellent news because 2008 is going to be a brutal year for Republicans, and Coleman has at times fallen behind Franken in the polls.

Democrats have tried to downplay Brodkorb by portraying him as part of coordinated Republican attacks.

“When people talk about the right wing noise machine, that’s what it is,” said Franken spokesman Andy Barr.

But even some of his harshest critics admit Brodkorb, who has no real counterweight on the left, has been effective.

A typical Brodkorb scoop is splashed across his Web site under bold-faced banners like “Shock!” or “Breaking News!” The items are often followed soon after by a news release from the state Republican Party on the same subject, and many of his themes find their way into Coleman’s talking points.

Now that’s the way the VRWC is supposed to work. I hope the RNC is paying attention to this.

Oh…and the latest Rasmussen poll has Coleman leading Franken by 7 points, 50%-43%.

You can read more about the “soft spoken and polite 34 -year-old” at the link.

RELATED:

Where the heck did Al Franken get all that money (to owe so much in taxes) anyways?

Gop Meanies Gonna ‘Swiftboat’ Obama

Some Democrat emo-brainiac is all worried that Obama may possibly get ‘Swiftboated’ by the Republicans because of his connections with The Weather Underground, and other lefties:

Rick Sloan says he doesn’t want to see the Democrats get “Swift Boated” again this time. So the communications director for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has sent a couple of dozen friends — union leaders and Democratic activists, mainly — an urgent plea to pay attention to Sen. Barack Obama’s connections with the 1960s anti-war group, the Weather Underground, and other leftist thinkers.

Democrats “can’t be an ostrich on this” with their heads buried in the sand, Sloan said in an interview.

Gee, fella….ya think???

Since “Swiftboat” means roughly, “Telling the truth about a Democrat”, it’s greatly feared and reviled by the left. And they’re not going to take it sitting down, either.

They’ve already got some hardcore, war room ninjas on the job of counter-swiftboating operations, and so far have come up with this devastating revelation about the McCain campaign…*GASP* (Make sure you’re sitting down for this!): RECIPEGATE!!11!

When will these McCarthyist tactics cease?

UPDATE:

More swiftboating:

Apparently McCain’s also got a temper…..ooooh-wee! That one’s gonna leave a mark.

Kelly Clarkson Sings Ave Maria For Pope Benedict XVI

Your Sunday Special:

She performed for the Pope, and the 25,000 young Catholics who flocked to Yonkers, NY to see him.

Nice Deb Liiiikes

Just spotted this at Michelle Malkin’s via Cao’s Blog:

Per Obama’s connections to unsavory characters:

The LA Times is doing its best to help Barack Obama sweep Bill Ayers under the rug. And now Bill Ayers’ brother has entered the fray, accusing Hillary Clinton of McCarthyism. Excellent.

See, this ain’t going away. My memos from Zombie Reagan at the VRWC-HQ tell me that we’re going to be hitting Obama on Ayers and Dohrn every single day until the election, with breaks for crazy preachers on weekends and the occasional Rezko story thrown in on just to keep things interesting.

Oh yeah, me likey! Me likey!

Very Interesting: McCain Channeling Fred Thompson’s Tax Plan

Sean Hackbarth of The American Mind covered John McCain’s economic speech Tuesday, which had some new news-making ideas:

McCain has said he wants to drop the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% and preserve President Bush’s tax cuts. He also reaffirmed his free trade stance. That puts him in stark contrast to Smoot-Hawley Democrats like Sens. Clinton and Obama. The new elements include doubling the exemption for a child or dependent from $3500 to $7000, allowing businesses to expense new equipment purchases in the first year, ban internet and new mobile phone taxes, and make the R&D tax credit permanent.

The news-making proposal is ditching the federal gas tax over the summer. Of course by McCain’s logic on the Bush tax cuts reinstating the gas tax after Labor Day would amount to a tax hike.

Here’s the part that sounds strangely familiar to Fredheads:

The most surprising element of McCain’s plan is an optional simplified tax system. It would have “two tax rates and a generous standard deduction.”

Last fall, Fred Thompson issued a tax plan that included an optional flat tax with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction. Another element of the Thompson plan was reducing corporate tax rates.

I don’t know if Thompson and McCain have spent any time together since McCain became the GOP nominee. Like a wrote above McCain for some time has been talking about cutting the corporate tax rate. The optional alternative tax came out of the blue. I wonder how much influence Thompson had?

Nice Deb knows. Nice Deb knows all.

I just felt a tingle go up my leg.

Awesome!

The first all dwarf soccer team in the world:

You can also see them in action, here.

As many of you know, one of my children is a dwarf. So this warms the cockles of my heart.

Found via Instapundit

Ace Of Spades On BlogTalkRadio

Right now. (11:00 eastern).

He’s being interviewed by Fausta, along with two other guests.

He’s says doing it stone cold sober.

Don’t Mess With This Iowegian

16 year old Jake Merfeld must have realized he chose the wrong home to burglarize, when he found himself being chased by an angry, ice-scraper wielding Derdre Rodriguez:

Rodriguez told officers she’d arrived home a few minutes earlier to hear noises coming from a room at the back of the house. When she called her son’s name, she heard someone jump from a rear window. Rodriguez went to investigate and saw Merfeld running across the backyard, carrying jewelry, cell phones, and a video game.

Merfeld dropped the items as Rodriguez chased him across her neighbors’ yards. When she caught Merfeld, Rodriguez hit him across the top of the head with the ice scraper and he surrendered. As they returned to the house to wait for police, Rodriguez made him collect all the property he’d dropped.

I like her style.

The kid had to be treated at a local hospital for the cut to his head. He’s also facing a second-degree burglary charge.

Commenters at the Gazette website wonder if Rodriguez is going to be subject to assault charges.

UPDATE:

Excellent! It turns out Deidre is a former pro-boxer. Hooo-boy! Did that kid pick the wrong home! And that wasn’t some tiny ice scraper she whaled him with….

CNN video here.

Hat tip Crime Scene KC

Friday Feel Good Story

Who doesn’t love a good, punk beat-down story?

Especially when the punk is trying to mug an 84 year old man. And the 84 year old is a former Marine:

Santa Rosa police Sgt. Steve Bair said that’s what happened around 2 p.m. in the 1600 block of Fourth Street. The elderly man was walking with a grocery bag in each arm when the boy approached him with a large knife, Bair said.

The boy said, “Old man, give me your wallet or I’ll cut you,” Bair said. The man told the boy he was a former Marine who fought in three wars and had been threatened with knives and bayonets, Bair said.

The man then put his bags on the ground and told the boy that if he stepped closer he would be sorry. When the boy stepped closer, the man kicked him in the groin, knocking him to the sidewalk, Bair said. The ex-Marine picked up his grocery bags and walked home, leaving the boy doubled over, Bair said.

The man reported the attempted robbery to police 45 minutes later.

The “boy” was described as 15 or 16 years old, and I’m guessing it will hurt for him to pee for awhile. I hope this little incident helps steer him away from a life of crime.

Hat tip: Crime Scene KC

Correction: This Local CBS affiliate says that the man was a retired Army paratrooper. You can watch his interview, here.

Related Story:

How lucky are we?! Two punk beat down story’s in one day! This time a trio of punks tries to rob a martial arts expert….with predictable results:

Three people who tried to rob a 42-year-old man in Bradenton early this morning may wish they had chosen a different target.

Two men and a woman approached a man in the parking lot of Health Care America, 3600 Cortez Road W., just after midnight, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said. The woman pointed a handgun at him and demanded his jewelry.

The man, who is a tae kwon do expert, pushed the gun away and kicked the woman in the face before fleeing across a street to a Shell gas station to call 911, deputies said.

YESSS!!!

Again, thanks to Crime Scene KC

Coptic Priest Causes Islamic Clerics Heartburn…

When he’s not converting them to Christianity:

Meet Father Zakaria Botros, Islam’s public enemy #1:

Though he is little known in the West, Coptic priest Zakaria Botros — named Islam’s “Public Enemy #1” by the Arabic newspaper, al-Insan al-Jadid — has been making waves in the Islamic world. Along with fellow missionaries — mostly Muslim converts — he appears frequently on the Arabic channel al-Hayat (i.e., “Life TV”). There, he addresses controversial topics of theological significance — free from the censorship imposed by Islamic authorities or self-imposed through fear of the zealous mobs who fulminated against the infamous cartoons of Mohammed. Botros’s excurses on little-known but embarrassing aspects of Islamic law and tradition have become a thorn in the side of Islamic leaders throughout the Middle East.

Botros is an unusual figure onscreen: robed, with a huge cross around his neck, he sits with both the Koran and the Bible in easy reach. Egypt’s Copts — members of one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East — have in many respects come to personify the demeaning Islamic institution of “dhimmitude” (which demands submissiveness from non-Muslims, in accordance with Koran 9:29). But the fiery Botros does not submit, and minces no words. He has famously made of Islam “ten demands,” whose radical nature he uses to highlight Islam’s own radical demands on non-Muslims.

The result? Mass conversions to Christianity — if clandestine ones. The very public conversion of high-profile Italian journalist Magdi Allam — who was baptized by Pope Benedict in Rome on Saturday — is only the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, Islamic cleric Ahmad al-Qatani stated on al-Jazeera TV a while back that some six million Muslims convert to Christianity annually, many of them persuaded by Botros’s public ministry.

His M.O.? He broadcasts in Arabic, (enabling him to reach a broad audience through the new media). Muslims can ask questions about Islam without fear of reprisal, unprecedented in the Islamic world. And he uses a technique that has proven irrefutable:

Each of his episodes has a theme — from the pressing to the esoteric — often expressed as a question (e.g., “Is jihad an obligation for all Muslims?”; “Are women inferior to men in Islam?”; “Did Mohammed say that adulterous female monkeys should be stoned?” “Is drinking the urine of prophets salutary according to sharia?”). To answer the question, Botros meticulously quotes — always careful to give sources and reference numbers — from authoritative Islamic texts on the subject, starting from the Koran; then from the canonical sayings of the prophet — the Hadith; and finally from the words of prominent Muslim theologians past and present — the illustrious ulema.

Botros treats the question as open, and invites the ulema, (the revered articulators of sharia law) to respond.

More often than not, the response from the ulema is deafening silence — which has only made Botros and Life TV more enticing to Muslim viewers. The ulema who have publicly addressed Botros’s conclusions often find themselves forced to agree with him — which has led to some amusing (and embarrassing) moments on live Arabic TV.

Read the entire article for examples of some of these moments.

Incapable of rebutting Botros, the only strategy left to the ulema (aside from a rumored $5-million bounty on his head) is to ignore him. When his name is brought up, they dismiss him as a troublemaking liar who is backed by — who else? — international “Jewry.” They could easily refute his points, they insist, but will not deign to do so. That strategy may satisfy some Muslims, but others are demanding straightforward responses from the ulema.

Here’s a video I found on Youtube, no doubt made by some frustrated Jihadi jerkweed:

Just pitiful…….as DPUD would say… FAIL!

Kudos to this mighty Christian warrior. God speed Father Botros.

Hat tip: The Jawa Report

The McCain Girls

Warning: May cause bleeding of the ears.

Help me out here…could this possibly be a Democrat dirty trick?

Hat tip: Jonah Goldberg

RELATED (Sort of…at least according to Youtube):

This is really scraping the bottom of the barrel, but my nine year old thinks it’s hilarious.

So without further ado, I bring you…Farting and Burping McCain:

Pass The Popcorn

This sure is shaping up to be an interesting next couple of months for the Democrats…

Bob Novak on  their dilemma:

The consensus among knowledgeable Democrats is that Obama will win over enough superdelegates to clinch the nomination before the national convention in August, partly because of fear for the consequences if they don’t. But one longtime associate said this of the Clintons in private conversation last week: “They will do anything - anything - to get nominated.” That reminder deepens the Democratic dilemma.

The Politico has a running tab on where the superdelegates stand.

The Wright controversy has hurt Obama in the polls. Victor Davis Hanson asked some random working class Americans in southern California what they thought of Obama’s speech last week:

The answers, without exception, were essentially: “Forget the speech. I would never vote for Obama after listening to Wright.” In some cases, the reaction was not mild disappointment, but unprintable outrage.

The blame, such as it is, for all this goes to the Obama campaign “pros,” who, in their apparent arrogance over Obamania (a phenomenon due to the candidate’s charisma, not their own savvy), simply went to sleep and let the senator and his wife resort to their natural self-indulgence — itself the offspring of the Obamas’ privilege and insularity. Any amateur handler could have scanned that speech and taken out just 8-10 phrases, called for a tougher stance on Wright, a genuine apology, and put the issue behind them.

Meanwhile, The Clintons have their own Jeremiah Wright problem, which may explain why she’s been so tight lipped about this controversy.

The Washington Prowler:

According to former Clinton White House aides, Wright had been identified as a potential “influencer” for the African-American community by the Administration back in 1993.

“Reverend Wright was someone we very much wanted to cultivate and develop,” says one aide familiar with the outreach attempts. “We had him on short lists for various commissions and working groups.

Why am I not surprised?

A few weeks ago, liberal pundits couldn’t contain their glee over conservative discomfort with McCain. But look what’s happening now in the reality based community:

Polls now show words from both camps are causing serious damage. An increasing number of Clinton supporters say they would not vote for Obama in November and vice versa.

According to a new Franklin & Marshall College poll of Pennsylvania voters, only 53 percent of Clinton backers say they’ll vote for Obama should he become the nominee. Nineteen percent say they’ll vote for McCain and 13 percent say they won’t vote, the poll found.

The poll said that 60 percent of Obama backers said they would go for Clinton should she win the nomination, with 20 percent opting for McCain, and 3 percent saying they wouldn’t vote at all.

Have those Obama backers heard Bill Clinton’s latest utterances?:

“I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country,” he said in Charlotte, N.C. “And people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics.”The remark comes amid criticism that Mr. Obama did not adequately disassociate himself from comments by his pastor that some see as unpatriotic.

Nyuck nyuck! Two people who love their country??? There are currently three people in the race…who could he possibly be leaving out? And what other stuff? Racial stuff??? Oh my! This is getting good.

I thought this was supposed to be the year of the conservative crack-up. But what we’re witnessing is in fact a liberal trainwreck.

The stupid party may win the White House in spite of itself.

Christ The Lord Is Risen Today

  Ashley Cleveland