In the final hours of the health care debate, much was made over insults which were hurled at those members of Congress responsible for the massive government takeover. There was a clear effort to make the Democratic members, who supported the President’s health care takeover, seem like “victims” who were taking principled stances for the people. The media was also quick to report word from Democratic leaders that 10 of their members had been victims of threats and acts of vandalism, which are inappropriate and have no place in civil discourse.

Meanwhile, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his family were the targets of a death threat for which a Philadelphia man was arrested on Monday. While the media reported the threat against Rep. Cantor, they didn’t point out that the suspect, Norman Leboon, claimed on his YouTube website that he is the “Messiah” of “gays and lesbians” and asks his homosexual “children” to leave the armed forces so that he might “smite” those remaining. This was not an insignificant omission. There is a clear pattern of intimidation that comes from many homosexual activists.

In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the issue next month in a case that springs from the Washington State ballot measure to protect marriage. As they have in Massachusetts, California and elsewhere, homosexual activists in Washington State resorted to civic terrorism to intimidate those who signed the ballot measure. The question in this case is whether or not those who sign can do so without their names being publicly released. The evidence is mounting that those who are trumpeting the call for tolerance, have little tolerance for those they disagree with.

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU10C23&f=PG07J01

(Pictured: Bill Donohue) “Seldom have I seen such delirium over an innocent man, namely Pope Benedict XVI. Christopher Hitchens, the rabid atheist, wants to know why the European Union is allowing the pope to travel freely. Perhaps he wants the pope handcuffed at the Vatican and brought to the guillotine?”

The Catholic League is the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization. Founded in 1973 by the late Father Virgil C. Blum, S.J., the Catholic League defends the right of Catholics – lay and clergy alike – to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination. It is led by its’ President, William A. Donohue, Ph.D.

http://www.catholiconline.com/national/national_story.php?id=36006

Will it be easier to persuade people that Barack Obama is wrong on the issues or to try to convince them that he is outright evil?

That’s a crucial question facing conservatives as we gear up for fateful election battles in 2010 and 2012.

Based on human nature and political history, the answer to that question ought to be obvious: Americans have often felt that our leaders make mistakes or pursue destructive policies but we have rarely (if ever) believed that they did it deliberately to damage the country. In the last 80 years, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush all got voted out of office by an angry electorate but a majority of the public never embraced the idea that these floundering presidents were actually bad guys. Only during President Nixon’s Watergate scandal did a substantial segment of the population come to believe that their president might well be evil or insane, and that belief led directly to the president’s resignation. The next impeachment crisis turned out very differently, of course: with GOP efforts to portray Bill Clinton as a dangerous ethical monster bringing the president the highest approval ratings of his career from a public that preferred to view him as a lovable (or at least forgivable) rogue.

Despite this history, many conservatives insist on outspokenly demonizing Barack Obama and express self-righteous certainty that these paranoid characterizations represent an effective political strategy. Leading talk show hosts repeatedly declare that the president is pursuing a diabolical, deliberate scheme to wreck the U.S. economy so that a desperate, impoverished populace will welcome the imposition of socialism. A prominent new group called the “Impeach Obama Campaign” asks: “Are you willing to let him construct a totalitarian regime: fascism, socialism, Obamaism… take your pick?” The leaders of this new movement (including former GOP office-holders and prominent political professionals) go on to declare: “Make no mistake. We’re now in the middle of a bloodless coup — the takeover of an entire nation by the hate-America crowd — a cold-blooded gang that despises America’s prosperity, our standing in the world, our trust in God and our generosity and goodness….What can we do to stop this monomaniac, this American dictator?”

This sort of rhetoric has encouraged a climate of opinion among conservatives that resulted in an alarming Harris Poll in the midst of the recent health care debate. According to a survey of 2,230 individuals, 57% of Republicans believe that Obama is a Muslim, 45% agree that he “was not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president,” and 38% back the statement that “Obama is doing many of the things that Hitler did.” Continue reading →

March 31st, 2010 by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D., Catholic Exchange

http://catholicexchange.com/2010/03/31/127384/

By USCCB, Catholic Exchange, March 31st, 2010

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ executive committee issued a statement on March 30 defending Pope Benedict’s leadership in addressing the scandal of clerical sexual abuse.

The bishops “write both to express our deep concern for those harmed by the crime and sin of sexual abuse by clergy and to express our profound gratitude for the assistance that Pope Benedict XVI has given us in our efforts to respond to victims, deal with perpetrators and to create safe environments for children,” the statement begins. “The recent emergence of more reports of sexual abuse by clergy saddens and angers the Church and causes us shame. If there is anywhere that children should be safe, it should be in their homes and in the Church.”

“We know from our experience how Pope Benedict is deeply concerned for those who have been harmed by sexual abuse and how he has strengthened the Church’s response to victims and supported our efforts to deal with perpetrators,” the bishops continued. “With the support of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, we bishops have made a vigorous commitment to do everything in our power to prevent abuse from happening to children.”

“As we accompany Christ in His passion and death during this Holy Week,” the bishops concluded, “we stand with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in prayer for the victims of sexual abuse, for the entire Church and for the world.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• US Bishops Voice Concern for Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse, Thank Pope Benedict for Leadership (USCCB)

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5886

EVANSVILLE, Indiana – Catholic nuns cannot absolve U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) for voting for the Senate’s health care reform bill and failing to protect the sanctity of life, says Ellsworth’s own bishop.

Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger of Evansville went after Ellsworth, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and other “skitterish” pro-life politicians for using the statements of Network, a pro-abortion “social justice” lobby of Catholic nuns, and the Catholic Health Association to “digress and absolve themselves from the constant position of the bishops of this country of which I am one!”

Gettlefinger said the statements of Network and the Catholic Health Association were both “divisive” and either “beclouded ‘skitterish’ pro-life politicians or gave them a cloud to hide under,” including Ellsworth.

“In recent months I have worked very closely and personally with Congressman Ellsworth. However, he has not been in touch with me even after my effort to encourage him to ‘stay the course’ with the USCCB on this last vote,” said the Evansville bishop.

“I am personally and greatly disappointed in Congressman Ellsworth in the published report that he, instead, ‘hung his apology’ on the published positions of Network and the Catholic Health Association,” said Gettlefinger. “In doing so, Congressman Ellsworth excused himself by sidestepping the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who have worked exceedingly hard with him on these very critical moral matters.”

“In any case, let us pray for Congressman Ellsworth and all in the political arena elected on our behalf to protect the life of the unborn and the poor!” the bishop concluded.

Dozens of other U.S. Catholic bishops, in agreement with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have condemned the health care reform legislation that passed March 21 for unleashing federal abortion funding, and lacking adequate conscience protection provisions for pro-life health care professionals.

Many Catholic bishops have spoken out against pro-life Democrats, the Catholic Health Association, and Network, which with the cooperation of President Marlene Weisenbeck of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, released a letter falsely claiming that they represented 59,000 Catholic nuns endorsing the health care bill.

Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the USCCB, pointed out that the letter’s signature by Weisenbeck and 54 other nuns, made a false claim since they could hardly be representative of the 793 women’s religious congregations in the US.

The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR), which claims 10,000 members (some also belong to the LCWR), came out that week in support of the US bishops against the health care bill after the Network/LCWR letter was released in the run-up to the health care vote.

See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Bishop Vasa Slams ‘Positively Evil’ Health Care Reform Law

Bishop Nails Pelosi and ‘Catholic’  Groups for Spreading ‘Fog of Confusion’ on ObamaCare

Chaput Rebukes CHA & “Catholic” Groups for Pro-Abort ObamaCare Triumph

List: Bishops, Nuns, Organizations Supporting/Opposing Senate Health Care Bill

Nuns Backstab Bishops on Health Care, Demand Bill’s Passage

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10033010.html

By Kathleen Gilbert and John Jalsevac, March 30, 2010, LifeSiteNews.com

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin -  Fr. Thomas Brundage, a former judge for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who oversaw the 1996 canonical proceedings against Fr. Lawrence Murphy, has shot back at New York Times and Associated Press articles that have attempted to implicate Pope Benedict XVI in a “cover-up” of clerical abuse by Fr. Murphy, and others.

Brundage slammed the news organizations for making “a huge leap of logic and information” in connecting the pontiff to the case involving Fr. Murphy, and for failing to do the basic courtesy of contacting him or checking the accuracy of quotations erroneously attributed to him.

“As I have found that the reporting on this issue has been inaccurate and poor in terms of the facts, I am also writing out of a sense of duty to the truth,” he wrote.

“The fact that I presided over this trial and have never once been contacted by any news organization for comment speaks for itself.”

A media frenzy has continued to expand this week surrounding accusations that Pope Benedict XVI was complicit in covering up child abuse perpetrated by Catholic clergy. One prominent case involves Fr. Lawrence Murphy, who is said to have abused dozens of boys at a school for the deaf in between the 1950s and 70s.

In 1996, two decades after the last allegations of abuse by Fr. Murphy were made, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (then run by Cardinal Ratzinger) was informed of the accusations. The CDF instructed the local diocese to begin canonical proceedings against the priest. In the end, however, the recommendation was made by the CDF, due to Fr. Murphys extremely poor health, simply to restrict his pastoral activities, and he died several months later.

The NYTimes, however, has charged the CDF, and Pope Benedict himself, with having failed to take the case seriously, and of having declined to defrock the priest, “even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church.”

But Brundage has come to the defense of the pope, writing that “(Pope Benedict) has done more than any other pope or bishop in history to rid the Catholic Church of the scourge of child sexual abuse and provide for those who have been injured.”

In addition, Brundage has pointed out the much-ignored fact that Fr. Murphy “was still the defendant in a church criminal trial” on the day that he died, and that he was by no means scot-free. The former canonical judge describes his investigation into Fr. Murphy’s abuse as “the darkest days of my own priesthood,” and says that, “Had I been asked to abate this trial, I most certainly would have insisted that an appeal be made to the supreme court of the church, or Pope John Paul II if necessary.”

Brundage has also pointed out, as an example of the “sloppy” reporting on the issue, the fact that the NYT and AP erroneously attributed to himself two quotations from a 1997 handwritten document, and failed to check the source. Continue reading →

By Martha Schieber, March 30, 2010, LifeSiteNews.com

Before a sold-out audience of 1,200 enthusiastic pro-life supporters, Glenn Beck warned of a “profound change” coming to America that he said would wreak havoc on the sanctity of life.  Beck’s comments came at the Vitae Foundation’s 18th annual pro-life benefit dinner in Jefferson City, Mo., on March 13.

With his signature blackboard behind him, the Fox TV host said that society is changing and people have to work hard to get the word out that life is valuable.

“There is a profound evil coming our way,” Beck told the pro-life crowd, “if we don’t draw a line in the sand.”

In his talk he explained the historical backdrop of eugenics that gripped the world in the early 20th century – a time when men like Adolf Hitler gave speeches on compassion and healing, all in the name of social and economic justice, and people who were considered undesirable were also thought to be a drain on society during hard economic times.

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, and a well-known eugenicist wrote, “All of our problems are a result of our overpopulated working class.” Beck noted that Sanger came back from Europe in the 1930s with a new rhetoric that was wrapped in terms of compassion.

“Pay attention to what’s happening!” Beck stated, referencing the fact that abortion is now considered “health care” by many in Washington. “There are people out there who want to wipe other people out.”

The television and radio told a story about his oldest daughter, who has cerebral palsy.  When she was born she experienced 13 strokes, and the doctor simply told Beck and his wife, “You’re praying people, so there’s always hope.”

As a freshman in high school and a member of the cross-country team, her coach told his daughter if she couldn’t make it to the end of the race she should just stop and rest – a remark that Beck said offended his daughter.

Beck said his daughter’s goal was to finish every race and to beat her personal best. During her senior year, as captain of the team, she gave a speech, in which she said to her coach, “I didn’t believe you that I couldn’t finish it,” and she told her teammates: “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, because you can!”

Beck then challenged the pro-lifers gathered: “So from my daughter, you can finish the race!  It is about the sanctity of human life!”

“If we fail, who will complete this task?  Stand up, get in the race.  You can, will and must win!”

Before Beck got into his history lesson that evening, he took a few moments to pay tribute to the birth mother of his youngest child, whom he and his wife had adopted after they were unable to conceive a child themselves.

On the day his son was born, Beck told the young birth mother, “I don’t have to read Spiderman or Batman to my son.  I promise he will remember you as a superhero. You changed a little boy’s life and that of a man and a woman who fell in love.”

Glenn Beck is one of many well-known personalities who endorse Vitae Foundation’s mission to use mass media to help reach out to women facing unplanned pregnancies and connect them with local resources where they can make an informed decision.

This year alone, Vitae will have Gov. Mike Huckabee speaking in Dallas on April 27, Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow speaking in St. Louis on May 18 and former presidential candidate Sarah Palin will headline the September 13 Kansas City Vitae event.

“Vitae is thrilled to have people of this caliber speaking out for a culture of life.  As more and more Americans identify themselves as pro-life, we know that we will win this race!” Carl Landwehr, President of Vitae Foundation, stated.

Vitae pioneered the research-based, right-brain-focused and results-driven approach using media to address the abortion issue.  Its goal is to be in the top 25 media markets. Currently Vitae is present in almost half of them.

For more information about Vitae Foundation or its upcoming events, go to http://www.vitaecaringfoundation.org/.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10033004.html

“If it be asked, What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? The answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws — the first growing out of the last. … A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.”

–Alexander Hamilton, Essay in the American Daily Advertiser, 1794

Father James Swanson, LC

Matthew 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ´The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”´” The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I wish to accompany you closely on the road to Calvary. If I were to contemplate you more often as you hang scourged and bloody upon the cross, I’m certain I would be able to rest in your love and base my actions on that one truth. I know that you have loved me with an eternal love: you have proven it there on the wood of the cross. So I long to respond with gratitude, peace and the firm determination to spread your love to everyone.

Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to stay strong in my faith.

1. One of the Twelve a Traitor? We often think that Judas must have been different, obviously worse than the other disciples. If that were true, everyone would have suspected him when Jesus said, “One of you will betray me.” They would have thought: “It must be Judas. He’s always been bad. He’s capable of betraying Jesus. I don’t know why Jesus picked him.” Instead, Judas did not stand out as any worse than they were. If he did, they would have immediately suspected him. Each one of us, as well, could become a Judas little by little, first by giving up our principles on smaller matters and then later on more important matters. In the Christian life there always needs to be a healthy tension of straining forward and of watchfulness. The one who is trustworthy in small matters is trustworthy in greater matters.

2. Is It I? The apostles are all asking, “Is it I?” Why? Was there some widespread desire to betray him of which they were barely keeping control? No, but they were in a very dangerous situation. The Pharisees had decided to kill Jesus. The apostles know it. That’s why the whole group had gone to stay in Jericho for awhile. Jerusalem was too dangerous. They can imagine themselves following Jesus to the Temple the next day, being singled out in the crush of the crowd and then having their life threatened to provide information about where Jesus can be found at night. They wonder what they would say. With my life on the line would I betray Jesus? This is why they ask, “Is it I?” When push comes to shove, what comes first in my life? Would I ever consider selling out on Jesus for something or someone else?

3. Vigilence of the Heart Judas had everything he needed to be a great apostle. He had a magnanimous heart, which is why Jesus picked him. God never destines anyone for failure. So what happened to him? At some point he stopped working on his friendship with Jesus. Some would point to the moment of the discourse on the Bread of Life recorded in John 6. Judas couldn’t accept that he needed to eat Jesus’ body and drink his blood. Jesus must be wrong, and therefore he is a false Messiah. John 6:64 tells us that Jesus knew who his betrayer would be. Jesus gives Judas a chance to leave the group and remain an honest man in John 6:67. Instead, he stays, becoming a hypocrite – a “devil” in Jesus’ words – and begins the path that will lead to betrayal. Knowing that my faith is the most precious gift I have received from God, do I watch over and nourish my faith so that it grows and is strong?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I have betrayed you so many times, even when I do such a simple thing as not saying grace in a restaurant out of fear that others will realize I am a Catholic. May the experience of your Passion and death help me to have the courage to live by my convictions at all times.

Resolution: Today I will live all the demands of my faith, especially in the moments when they point me out as a follower of Christ. Today I will not betray him, even in the smallest way.

http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?se=363&ca=975&te=735&id=20302

CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY, MARCH 31, 2010

Blessed Joan of Toulouse lived in the town of Toulouse during the thirteenth century. A Carmelite monastery had been founded in the town in 1240 and this exposed Joan to the Carmelite lifestyle and spirituality. In 1265 when St. Simon Stock, a thirteenth century reformer of the Carmelites, was passing through Toulouse, Joan met him and requested to be affiliated with the Carmelites. Simon agreed and Blessed Joan became the first Third Order Carmelite.

Joan vowed herself to perpetual chastity. Joan applied herself completely to the Carmelite Rule. In addition to many daily holy practices and pennances, Joan reached out to the community and worked to help the sick and poor. One of Joan’s primary missions was encouraging the boys of the town to help her serve the poor and help them discern whether or not they were called to be Carmelites.  Blessed Joan is considered to be a founder of the Carmelite tertiary order and is considered to be the first member of this order. Joan died near the end of the thirteenth century. Her cult was approved in 1895.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=193

Now Max Baucus tells us: the health care overhaul America was just forced to endure was the government’s attempt to fix the “mal-distribution of income.”  It’s an admission that sadly comes after the bill has passed and been signed by President Obama.  But it’s better late than never.

While the acknowledgment likely wouldn’t have stopped the legislation because chances are it was common knowledge behind closed doors, at least the admission has now become public.  And it proves the point the whole exercise had nothing to do with Americans’ health and more to do with the Marxist concept of “redistributing” wealth.

According to FoxNews.com, Baucus said:

“Too often, much of late, the last couple three years, the mal-distribution of income in American is gone up way too much, the wealthy are getting way, way too wealthy and the middle income class is left behind,” he said. “Wages have not kept up with increased income of the highest income in America. This legislation will have the effect of addressing that mal-distribution of income in America.”

http://biggovernment.com/kolson/2010/03/28/better-late-than-never-top-senate-dem-admits-un-american-health-bill-was-to-address-mal-distribution-of-income/#more-97366

Franken Unhinged: Shutting Up Staffers and Journalist

Al Franken became famous as a comedian. A long-time writer for Saturday Night Live, he developed routines and characters that made us laugh. But, as my latest video reminds us, even funny people can be humorless……

Check out my new book, Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation. If we have to live through ObamaNation, we might as well laugh at it…and try to understand it.

Save Freedom of Speech is a color lithograph created in 1942 by Norman Rockwell and published in the Saturday Evening Post as part of a series illustrating the “Four Freedoms.” The aim of the series was to promote the buying of war bonds by Americans during World War II. It depicts a man in a work shirt standing to voice an opinion at town meeting, while others look on.

Here is a smidge of our video from Saturday’s Tea Party Express coverage in Searchlight, Nevada. The AP calls this a hospitality tent. We call it destruction of property and assault. Either way, this is Harry Reid’s Democrat Party. So tolerant. So enlightened. So Progressive.   With friends like these, Senator Reid, who needs enemies?

BREAKING VIDEO: Reid Supporters Throwing Eggs And Assaulting Andrew Breitbart

http://biggovernment.com/amarcus/2010/03/29/breaking-video-reid-supporters-throwing-eggs-and-assaulting-andrew-breitbart/

~ Lagniappe`~

ObamaCare, America’s fallen and can’t get up!

Van Thuân Observatory Affirms Support for Benedict XVI

….The hold that the Leftist value system has on its adherents is as strong as the hold Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have on theirs . . . Given the religious nature and the emotional power of Leftist values, Jews and Christians on the Left often derive their values from the Left more than from their religion….

Dennis Prager, National Review, March 30, 2010

Whence do Christians and Jews among the American Left get their values?

Likewise, many Americans wonder how Democratic congressmen who claim to be faithful, pro-life Catholics could vote for a health-care bill that allows for federal funding of abortions after opposing it up to the last day.

There is an explanation.

Leftism, though secular, must be understood as a religion (which is why I have begun capitalizing it). The Leftist value system’s hold on its adherents is as strong as the hold Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have on theirs. Nancy Pelosi’s belief in expanding the government’s role in American life, which inspired her passion for the health-care bill, is as strong as a pro-life Christian’s belief in the sanctity of the life of the unborn.

Given the religious nature and the emotional power of Leftist values, Jews and Christians on the Left often derive their values from the Left more than from their religion.

Now, most Leftist Jews and Christians will counter that Leftist values cannot trump their religion’s values because Leftist values are identical to their religion’s. But this argument only reinforces my argument that Leftism has conquered the Christianity and the Judaism of Leftist Christians and Jews. If there is no difference between Leftist moral values and those of Judaism or Christianity, then Christianity is little more than Leftism with “Jesus” rhetoric and Judaism is Leftism with Jewish terms — such as “Tikkun Olam” (“repairing the world”) and “Prophetic values.”

But if Christianity is, morally speaking, really Leftism, why didn’t Catholics and Protestants assert these values before 19th century European Leftism came along? And, if Judaism is essentially a set of Left-wing values, does that mean that the Torah and the Talmud are Leftist documents? Or are the two pillars of Judaism generally wrong?

More questions:

Of course, that is what people on the Left believe. As the former head of the Democratic party, Howard Dean, said, “In contradistinction to the Republicans, we don’t think kids ought to go to bed hungry at night.”

They believe such things despite the fact that traditional Protestants and Catholics have created more institutions to take care of the sick and needy than probably any other group in the world, and despite the fact that religious Americans give more charity and volunteer more time than secular Americans do.

And why have the great majority of Orthodox Jews rejected the Left? For Jews on the Left, the explanation is simple: Orthodox Jews have primitive beliefs and, therefore, primitive values.

For the Leftist, all opposition to the Left, secular or religious, is primitive and usually worse (Racist, Sexist, Homophobic, Xenophobic, Ignorant, Bigoted, Intolerant, Mean-Spirited, etc.). So this doesn’t tell us much. What might tell us much? This: With a handful of exceptions, Orthodox Jews know Judaism far better than non-Orthodox Jews do. Given how few of them are Leftist, this would suggest that Judaism and Leftism are indeed in conflict.

But that doesn’t matter to most Jews on the Left, because to be a good person (and, to those for whom it matters, to be a good Jew), one need not know Judaism, let alone follow Judaism. One needs only to feel what is right (Leftism is overwhelmingly based on feeling); and, when in doubt, one can determine what is right from the New York Times, not from sacred Jewish texts.

One of the many fundamental differences between Leftism and Judaism concerns evil. Jews and others on the Left (everywhere, not just in America) have a real problem identifying, let alone confronting, evil. Yet, for Judaism, identifying and confronting evil is as basic a Jewish value as exists. That is why, for example, there is no pacifist tradition in Judaism.

Were the loudest in condemning Pres. Ronald Reagan when he labeled the Soviet Union an “evil empire.”

Devoted much of their lives to opposing the war in Vietnam, which they labeled immoral even though it was a war against Stalinist tyranny.

Opposed deposing the mass murderer Saddam Hussein; many even opposed the Gulf War.

Believe that the moral wasteland known as the United Nations, not the United States, is, or must be, the greatest force for good on earth.

Oppose allowing the American military to recruit on campuses.

And that explains Bart Stupak’s vote, too. In his inner conflict between Catholicism and Leftism, the more dynamic religion won.

— Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. He may be contacted through his website, dennisprager.com.

http://article.nationalreview.com/429726/leftism-the-religion/dennis-prager?page=2



White House Seeks to Rally Supporters With Aggressive Tone Against Opponents

President Barack Obama, after a year of fitfully searching for compromise, is taking a more aggressive tack with his Republican adversaries, hoping to energize Democratic voters and possibly muscle in some Republican support in Congress.

On Thursday, the president challenged Republicans who planned to campaign on repealing his health-care bill with, “Go for it.” Two days later, he made 15 senior appointments without Senate consent, including a union lawyer whose nomination had been blocked by a filibuster.

At a bill-signing event Tuesday, he is set to laud passage of higher-education legislation that was approved despite Republican objections through a parliamentary maneuver that neutralized the party’s filibuster threat.

On Thursday, Mr. Obama will be in Maine, home state of two moderate Republican senators who opposed his health-care plan, to promote the health law.

Even his surprise trip to Afghanistan on Sunday mobilized the perks of the presidency to marshal public opinion, as pictures were beamed home of Mr. Obama mobbed by U.S. troops.

A senior Democratic official said the push was a textbook case of taking advantage of political momentum as the campaign season begins. Republicans are “on the defensive,” the official said, “and as long as they’re not cooperating, we ought to keep them there.”

Republicans say Mr. Obama’s overtures to them have been for show, whether it was his January meeting with House Republicans in Baltimore or last month’s televised, bipartisan health-care summit. Continue reading →

By Eric Allie

By Chip Bok

By Lisa Benson

Whatever you do, don’t assume that Obamacare and the rest of Obama’s statist agenda will be easy to reverse because the public is so outraged. Obama and his relentless leftist armies have only just begun to fight.

One might suspect that after strong-arming Obamacare through Congress over the objections of a substantial majority of Americans, the Obamunists would lie low for a while — or that they would at least pretend to make conciliatory overtures to the other side to heal the rifts they’ve caused in this nation.

Hardly. The left wing is in full gloating mode. Liberal columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. wrote: “Yes, we did. Finally, President Obama can use those words. … No longer will the United States be the outlier among wealthy nations in leaving so many of its citizens without basic health coverage.” Yes, that evil old United States — you know, the “outlier” who, up to now, has not forced millions of people who don’t want to buy health insurance to buy it. And who will provide further insurance to millions more who already have access to federal health assistance but don’t avail themselves of it.

There will be no mea culpas for the outrageous abuses they committed in passing this bill. There’ll be no humility and no interest in reconciling. If anything, they’re puffed up even more, as if they’re entitled to kudos for thwarting the will of the people and prepared to give them more of the same — which they are, with the likes of amnesty and cap and tax.

They are planning to sweep the nation with yet another propaganda blitz to explain to the rubes just how much better off they’ll be with less freedom, less money and worse health care. After all, the bitter clingers didn’t quite get it after Obama’s first 100 speeches on the subject.

The Democrats’ message to Republicans: Give it up. Give it up for our savior, Barack Obama, and give up your fantasies about repealing his socialist gifts to the “outlier,” especially Obamacare. Get with the program. Join the new wave of American progressivism. Sure, it may not be popular now, but you’ll learn to like it — just as the Iranian people like their dictator and show it every time they get a chance to vote for him.

Sen. Dick Durbin told Republicans they are in denial and need to accept the finality of health care changes. “We’re going to tell our people back home, ‘It’s time to govern. It’s time to lead.’” I think he meant: “We’re going to tell our constituents that it’s time to ‘dictate.’ No, I don’t mean we’ll tell them face to face. I’m not suggesting more town hall meetings. You think I’m nuts?” Yes, but that’s another subject.

I think that’s a wise move, Senator. For if you were to show up at town hall meetings, you might be faced with some more questions you can’t answer and some hard facts you can’t explain away. You might recall when Rep. Paul Ryan and other Republicans exposed the many accounting deceits contained in Obamacare during the health care summit — you know, tricks such as keeping major items off the budget to make it appear as if the bill wouldn’t increase the deficit. Obama had no answer then, which didn’t keep him from talking as long as all the Republicans combined. He has no answer now.

In fact, in a memo leaked to Politico, Democrats admitted that when the entire health care package is viewed as a whole, it increases the deficit. The memo even encouraged deceit by telling staffers and congressmen to gloss over the accounting details. For example, if the Congressional Budget Office had factored in the full repeal of the sustainable growth rate governing payments to physicians, the bill’s mythical budget neutrality would have been obliterated.

Since the bill has passed, some Democratic politicians have been more candid about their motives. Fox News reports that Sen. Max Baucus admitted Obamacare “will have the effect of addressing that maldistribution of income in America.” Thanks for admitting your socialist mindset now, Senator.

But there is an even more ominous sign the Democrats are drunk with power and out of control following the passage of Obamacare. Congressional Democrats are going to use the strong arm of government to intimidate and punish certain corporations who had the audacity to announce imminent losses that will result from Obamacare. In required regulatory filings, AT&T, John Deere, Verizon and others announced plans to book one-time costs — up to $1 billion — because of the bill. They said the new law will make it more expensive to provide prescription drug coverage for their retired employees, which obviously embarrassed Obama-proud Democrats.

So Reps. Henry Waxman and Bart “the Phony” Stupak have summoned these companies’ executives to Washington to explain themselves.

What will these power-drunk bullies try next?

David Limbaugh, brother of radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, is an expert in law and politics and author of Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today’s Democratic Party.

http://townhall.com/columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2010/03/30/obamas_gifts_to_the_outlier_have_only_just_begun

Overcoming the allure of relativism with a message of truth has been a consistent project of Pope Benedict.

By Carl Anderson, 3/29/2010, Zenit News Agency (www.zenit.org)

On Palm Sunday, the Pope also reiterated “to all the young men and women […] that being Christian is a journey, or better: It is a pilgrimage, it is a going with Jesus Christ, a going in that direction that he has pointed out to us and is pointing out to us.”

NEW HAVEN, CT. (Zenit.org) – Twenty-five years ago, Pope John Paul II inaugurated the celebration of World Youth Day — to be celebrated on Palm Sunday each year. He understood — as does Benedict XVI — that the future of the Church depends on the youth, on the next generation of Catholic parents, priests and religious.

Now we know what then-presidential candidate Barack Obama meant when he predicted on the campaign trail that, “We are going to fundamentally change America.”

His goal is to mutate every one of the nation’s key institutions, in both the public and the private sectors, in the service of a revolutionary, even nihilistic, agenda right out of the playbook of Mr. Obama’s ideological mentor, Saul Alinsky.

Most voters in the 2008 elections were unaware that the man they elected president of the United States had spent years working in and for community activist organizations, including ACORN, that were created or associated with Alinsky — one of the most radical figures in American political history. They were ignorant of what Alinsky sought to do, let alone what Barack Obama might do once in office.

Someone who was under no illusion about either point is David Horowitz, who was himself a leading radical in the 1970s but broke with his former comrades and became one of the left’s most knowledgeable and effective critics.

He recently published an excellent short pamphlet entitled “Barack Obama’s Rules for Revolution: The Alinsky Model.” It has this chilling section:

“Alinsky’s advice can be summed up in the following way. Even though you are at war with the system, don’t confront it as an opposing army; join it and undermine it as a fifth column from within. To achieve this infiltration you must work inside the system for the time being. Alinsky spells out exactly what this means [in his book Rules for Radicals]: ‘Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people.’

“In other words, it is first necessary to sell the people on change itself, the ‘audacity of hope,’ and ‘yes we can.’ You do this by proposing moderate changes which open the door to your radical agendas: ‘Remember: Once you organize people around something as commonly agreed upon as pollution, then an organized people is on the move. From there, it’s a short and natural step to political pollution, to Pentagon pollution.’”

Alinsky’s last example is particularly alarming in light of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ announcement March 25 that he was changing the Pentagon’s regulations with respect to implementation of the law that prohibits openly homosexual individuals from serving in the military. He claims that the purpose of the changes is to make such enforcement “fairer and more appropriate” — presumably, fairer to people who are not supposed to be in the armed forces in the first place. Continue reading →

SC Lt. Governor Calls for Convention to Overturn Obama Health Care

andrebauer.com: “As I have carefully researched this matter to find a solution, I have found but one sure-fire way to overturn the new socialized medicine law: a constitutional convention, called for by the states, as provided for in Article Five of the United States Constitution. I am asking you to support a le gislative resolution calling for a constitutional convention, hopefully by joining as a sponsor of the resolution which, at my request, is already being prepared by Senators Campbell and Cleary in the Senate, and Representatives Frye and Scott in the House.”