I’m glad that someone in the Liberal media is finally taking on Barack Obama’s 20 years of attendence at a church founded on Black Liberation doctrine, mentored by Black Liberation docrine pastors such as Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger, surrounded by people in the pews who believe in Black Liberation doctrine, and reading about Black Liberation doctrine in all those copies of Trinity Church’s newsletter that featured articles about Barack Obama.

Huh? No? I missread it? How about that? Palin treads carefully between fundamentalist beliefs and public policy

Soon after Sarah Palin was elected mayor of the foothill town of Wasilla, Alaska, she startled a local music teacher by insisting in casual conversation that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago — about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct — the teacher said.

After conducting a college band and watching Palin deliver a commencement address to a small group of home-schooled students in June 1997, Wasilla resident Philip Munger said, he asked the young mayor about her religious beliefs.

Palin told him that “dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time,” Munger said. When he asked her about prehistoric fossils and tracks dating back millions of years, Palin said “she had seen pictures of human footprints inside the tracks,” recalled Munger, who teaches music at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and has regularly criticized Palin in recent years on his liberal political blog, called Progressive Alaska.

I do not hold those same beliefs, but, apparently, the Los Angeles Times is requiring a religious test for Palin. Her beliefs in what the Bible actually says are a cause for concern for the Times, though, apparently, it is OK for Barack H. Obama to sit in the pews of Trinity and listen to preachers talk about how Jesus was Black, and Whites are NOT practicing real Christianity.

Remember one thing, though: most of this is all hearsay. He said she said. Almost no direct quotes from Palin herself.

Palin has attended a number of prayer sessions with pastors and has quietly sought their guidance, but she is often mum on matters of faith in high-profile public forums.

Her aides say Palin’s caution at the intersection of religion and governance is a studied effort to share her beliefs without forcing them on Alaska.

In other words, the LA Times is digging for relevance, attempting to create an issue without direct, concrete evidence. Of course, Palin’s anti-abortion stance is good enough for the Times to label her a fundamentalist, and outside the mainstream.

Furthermore, they disengenuously misquote her, as so much of the media has, on Iraq

In one of her more controversial appearances in the Wasilla church, Palin told a group of ministry students in June to pray that sending troops to Iraq was part of “God’s plan.”

No no no.

But, you know, she wanted to allow Intelligent Design to be taught in schools, if they wanted to! How horrible to allow different viewpoints to be taught!

But, then, it has gotten so bad on the left that they are seeking counseling for their Palin Derangement Syndrome.

Can anyone point out a Credentialed Media article which discussed the negative implications of the pastors, both visiting and resident, at Trinity Church discussing how great Obama is, how evil his opponents were, and their other political talk? Jeremiah Wright? Who dat?

Defying a federal law that prohibits U.S. clergy from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, an evangelical Christian minister told his congregation Sunday that voting for Sen. Barack Obama would be evidence of “severe moral schizophrenia.”

BTW, unless the pastor happens to be preaching Black Liberation doctrine, they must be evangelical. In MSM world, they are all “fundies” unless they ean Left.

The Rev. Ron Johnson Jr. told worshipers that the Democratic presidential nominee’s positions on abortion and gay partnerships exist “in direct opposition to God’s truth as He has revealed it in the Scriptures.” Johnson showed slides contrasting the candidates’ views but stopped short of endorsing Obama’s Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain.

Johnson and 32 other pastors across the country set out Sunday to break the rules, hoping to generate a legal battle that will prompt federal courts to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship.

The ministers contend they have a constitutional right to advise their worshipers how to vote. As Johnson put it during a break between sermons, “The point that the IRS says you can’t do it, I’m saying you’re wrong.”

The IRS was alerted to this by “opponents,” ie, far Left groups who despise religion, except when Obama is practicing it and Pflegar (I refuse to use his religious label, as anyone who acts like he does doesn’t deserve to be in that job) is using his time to flount IRS regulations.

This time, the church action is concerted. Yet while the ministers say the rules stifle religious expression, their opponents contend that the tax laws are essential to protect the separation of church and state. They say political speech should not be supported by a tax break for the churches or the worshipers who are contributing to a political cause.

Yes, that notion that does not appear in the Constitution. The real one, I mean, not that “Living Constitution” based on European laws one.

Anyhow, let me point out that when I go to church, I do not want to listen to political speeches. I have no problem with Church time being used at other times, but not during the worship time. But, if I was going to one where that was happening, I would switch in a minute, even if the preacher was showing support for my candidate.

I’m sure we’ll be seeing the story about the IRS investigating left side churches like Trinity United tomorrow, right? More then likely, we will see the ACLU demanding, well, something. They always demand something. It’s like they hate freedom or something.

A triple shot of weird from the New York Times. Let’s start with “Obama has many ties to Fannie Mae, AIG, Lobbyists, and Domestic Terrorists.” Huh? Oh, sorry: McCain and Team Have Many Ties to Gambling Industry

Senator John McCain was on a roll. In a room reserved for high-stakes gamblers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, he tossed $100 chips around a hot craps table. When the marathon session ended around 2:30 a.m., the Arizona senator and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings.

As a two-time chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, Mr. McCain has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America’s casinos, helping to transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth with 423 casinos across the country. He has won praise as a champion of economic development and self-governance on reservations.

As factions of the ferociously competitive gambling industry have vied for an edge, they have found it advantageous to cultivate a relationship with Mr. McCain or hire someone who has one, according to an examination based on more than 70 interviews and thousands of pages of documents.

Mr. McCain portrays himself as a Washington maverick unswayed by special interests, referring recently to lobbyists as “birds of prey.” Yet in his current campaign, more than 40 fund-raisers and top advisers have lobbied or worked for an array of gambling interests — including tribal and Las Vegas casinos, lottery companies and online poker purveyors.

A “nicely” written article by the Times, with a mix of “look at the good McCain has done for these Indians!” and “hmm, he sure seems like he does quite a bit with lobbyists and to increase gambling in this country, which is bad!” A long, long, long page A1 article.

Why? What is the point, other then to subtely paint McCain as a gambling addict hell bent on taking lobbyist money to make American’s into gamblers.

Massachusetts Proposal Would Repeal Income Tax

….Amid the whirlwind presidential election, Massachusetts has a ballot contest of its own this November that could drastically alter — some would say cripple — state government.

At issue is Question 1, which would eliminate the state income tax. It would save the average taxpayer about $3,600 a year. Annual revenue from the tax is about $12.5 billion, roughly 45 percent of the state’s budget of about $28 billion.

Let’s see: the state with two of the most Liberal Senators, one a failed presidential candidate who liked to talk about tax cuts for the rich, and the other the Lion of the Senate, who never met a tax increase he didn’t like, wants to eliminate the State income tax. This is a state with 10 House seats, and all ten are Democrats. Massively liberal/progressive. If they think this is a good idea, maybe the rest of the country should consider it.

And last, but not least, but certainly most insane, the Grey Lady editorial board, the sense of the entire paper, goes nutroots

Electronic voting machines are notoriously unreliable, but their defenders insist that they can be trusted because they are rigorously tested before they are certified for use. Now Congressional investigators have issued a report confirming that the federal certification program needs work.

The Election Assistance Commission says it wants to do better. Congress should monitor its progress and make sure that the certification system is strengthened. Still, the best way to ensure the integrity of the vote is for Congress to require voter-verified paper records for every electronic ballot cast.

In other words, watch out for those wascally Republicans, who are going to attempt to steal the vote for a 3rd straight presidential election. Maybe they should be looking at their own side first.

Let’s see. Barack gets endorsements from Kim Jong Il, Bruce Springsteen, and a Grey’s Anatomy star.

Who does John McCain get?

I thought it was about even during the debate on the economy, but, Barry looked bad on the rest. His interruptions, his snotty and pissed off expressions. Here’s one that stood out to me: he stated that he was always for missile defense. Oh really?

I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.

I will not weaponize space.

I will slow our development of future combat systems.

And I will institute an independent “Defense Priorities Board” to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.

February 29, 2008. Video available at the link.

Already video from the debate

Of course, the New York Times doesn’t quite label Barry a liar, but, even Surrendie can read between the lines of a jilted Grey Lady, who has been carrying Barry’s water, and is not amused when he makes her out to be a fool: Dubious Claims in Obama’s Ads Against McCain, Despite Vow of Truth

Two weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign gleefully publicized a spate of news reports about misleading and untruthful statements in the advertisements of his rival, Senator John McCain. Asked by a voter in New Hampshire if he would respond in kind, Mr. Obama said, “I just have a different philosophy, I’m going to respond with the truth,” adding, “I’m not going to start making up lies about John McCain.”

Yet as Mr. McCain’s misleading advertisements became fodder on shows like “The View” and “Saturday Night Live,” Mr. Obama began his own run of advertisements on radio and television that have matched the dubious nature of Mr. McCain’s more questionable spots.

A radio advertisement running in Wisconsin and other contested states misleadingly reports that Mr. McCain “has stood in the way of” federal financing for stem cell research; Mr. McCain did once oppose such federally supported research but broke with President Bush to consistently support it starting in 2001 (his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, does not support it). (snip)

In all, Mr. Obama has released at least five commercials that have been criticized as misleading or untruthful against Mr. McCain’s positions in the past two weeks. Mr. Obama drew complaints from many of the independent fact-checking groups and editorial writers who just two weeks ago were criticizing Mr. McCain for producing a large share of this year’s untruthful spots (“Pants on Fire,” the fact-checking Web site PolitiFact.com wrote of Mr. Obama’s advertisement invoking Mr. Limbaugh; “False!” FactCheck.org said of his commercial on Social Security.)

So much for Hope and Change and a New Way Of Politics. Maybe Obama should change his campaign slogan to Truthiness.

Just for clarification, ads that stretch the truth do not bother either myself of The Surrender Monkey, nor does negative advertising, or mud slinging. That is just politics, as it goes back to when Og challenged Grag for leadership of the stoneage village. But, like the Times is working the edges around, you can’t sit there and say you are against all the normal politics, and then go and do them.

In case there is no debate Friday, here is the kinds of stuff you will miss

John McCain suspended his campaign today and went back to Washington to work with the Senate on the economic crisis we are facing. Read his message to the country below.

John McCain

John McCain’s Remarks on the Economic Crisis
New York, NY
Wednesday, September 24, 2008

America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, ever corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen.

Last Friday, I laid out my proposal and I have since discussed my priorities and concerns with the bill the Administration has put forward. Senator Obama has expressed his priorities and concerns. This morning, I met with a group of economic advisers to talk about the proposal on the table and the steps that we should take going forward. I have also spoken with members of Congress to hear their perspective.

It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration’s proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time.

Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me.

I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.

We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved. I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night’s debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.

I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so.

Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.

Meanwhile, Obama waited several hours before he announced that this was all his idea to begin with and he didn’t THINK he’d suspend his campaign because the American people need to see them and hear them. As IF we haven’t seen and heard Obama every time we turn our televisions on for the past two years. He whined a while about how McCain hadn’t called him back until the afternoon and then made his announcement and headed back to Washington while Obama was doing other things. Hrumpt!

I imagine that there were several hundred advisers in an auditorium somewhere in an intimate meeting with Obama during those hours trying to figure out how to make it look like HE was the decisive one and HE was the leader. So their idea, apparently, was for him to let everyone know that it was his idea yet he wasn’t going to do it.

Then, to make matters ever worse, the indecisive Obama the President called him and told him to get his hiney back to Washington and actually do some work. (He THINKS he’ll go on with his campaign even though he’s being paid to be a Senator. I worry that he might not know the directions to the Senate - that could be the problem).

The thing that seemed obvious to me today is that the Republicans are already looking to McCain for leadership and he took the leadership role. Obama sent a message that if they needed him to let him know - apparently no one did. However, at this point, they are both the leaders of their respective parties. And they can’t vote on something if they are actually physically present at the Senate. A surrogate can’t do that for them. Obama may not have known that since he hasn’t been there much.

Now, he has to follow McCain to Washington like a puppy after trying to assert himself as a leader in the most pathetic way. His spokespeople are all over the television saying what a courageous decision he made to get in front of the people instead of going back to Washington to do his job during a crisis. They are saying he showed real leadership. And now they are saying that he is showing bipartisanship by going to Washington when the President called him.

The man is pathetic.

McCain is the man.

Where’s the ACLU and all the Lefty “every vote counts!!!!!” groups? (h/t Riehl World View)

If Ohio polling looks like Chicago, ‘thank’ Brunner

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has a reputation as the most partisan state official in Ohio. And she works hard to earn it. The Democrat’s latest stunt rejected absentee ballots for thousands of Republicans.

But it’s not her first rodeo. Almost as soon as Brunner was elected in 2006, she tried to remove several Republican county elections officials, including Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert Bennett. They accused her of “storm trooper tactics” to silence critics.

Then Brunner spread an alarm that Ohio’s electronic voting machines were vulnerable to tampering - a favorite claim of the paranoid left. Elections officials who participated in Brunner’s study called her conclusions over-hyped “leaps in logic” and said, “The report itself could be viewed as an attack on the elections system … (that) planted seeds in the mind of the public to mistrust those who oversee elections.”

Brunner also demanded an overhaul of voting methods just before the March primaries, causing meltdowns in some precincts.

And now she’s hassling Republicans who want to vote for John McCain.

Two Hamilton County voters have sued, accusing her of “the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters.”

The John McCain campaign sent out more than 1 million applications for absentee ballots to Republicans. Each had a line at the top next to a box: “I am a qualified elector.”

Brunner sent a memo telling county election officials to reject those applications for absentee ballots if the box was not checked. “Failure to check the box leaves both the applicant and the board of elections without verification that the applicant is a ‘qualified elector’,” she wrote.

But that’s contrary to state law and Brunner doesn’t have the authority, according to the lawsuit and an opinion from Hamilton County’s Republican Prosecutor Joe Deters.

Ohio law allows voters to request an absentee ballot on the back of a grocery sack if they want to, as long as they include their name, address, date of birth, signature and either a driver’s license number, last four Social Security numbers or a valid picture I.D.

The ACLU has had all sorts of recent lawsuits and complaints about voter suppression, including trying to give convicted felons the vote and working with the far left racist group Advancement Project. The ACLU is against any sort of ID to prove that you are you when voting. They say they want “every vote to count,” so, will they get involved in this obvious attempt to disenfranchise people who will vote for John McCain? Why not send them the link to the article, and ask them to get involved. We’ll see if they are actually for Rights for All, or just for Liberals.

Apparently, The Grey Lady got the same email blast from the Barry Camp like I did

Senator Barack Obama this afternoon urged Treasury and Federal Reserve officials to include four conditions that he and other Democrats are seeking in the proposed $700 billion federal bailout for financial firms – though he stopped short of saying he would vote against the bailout if his terms were not met.

Adding some specificity to proposals he has already made, Mr. Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, called for a payback plan for taxpayers if the bailout succeeds; a bipartisan board to oversee the bailout; limits on any federal money going to compensate Wall Street executives; and aid to homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages.

Hmm, why does all that sound suspiciously like what Democrats have been talking about since Friday? But, now it is Barry’s plan? As far as it goes

1. Paying back the taxpayers? That will never happen. You know it, I know it, Barry knows it. But, it sounds good. Put it in writing, in clear, easy to understand language, Barry, and I’ll back it
2. Bipartisan board? You mean like the 9/11 Commission?
3. The money should not go to Wall Street execs, I’ll agree, but, a limit can’t be put on exec pay. Talent should be rewarded. Meanwhile, why don’t you tell your advisor Franklin Raines to give his golden parachute back?
4. Why not have Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, and Tim Howard, all your advisors, Barry, give the money they got from companies they ran into the ground to homeowners, especially considering they were part of the creation of the housing problem.

If those four objectives are not met, Mr. Obama told reporters at a news conference here, he would recommend that federal and Congressional negotiators “go back to the drawing board” to restructure the bailout plan.

Well, thanks Barry. Glad your seniority and excellent attendance record in Congress is being put to good use.

But, what does a financial writer for the Times think?

Imagine, then, what it’s like to be in Congress this week. Most members of Congress have no expertise in the byzantine details of mortgage finance — or even have aides on their staff with such expertise.

“The problem here is none of us has that kind of advice,” Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, who knows more about Wall Street than most of his colleagues, told me.

The blind leading the stupid. And here comes the shot at Barry’s “plan”

Their best shot at success depends on keeping the debate tightly focused on the questions that matter most. There are really only two: What steps are most likely to solve the immediate crisis? And how can the long-term cost to taxpayers be minimized?

Everything else — reducing executive pay on Wall Street, changing the bankruptcy laws, somehow slowing the descent of home prices — is either a detail or a distraction.

In other words, all the hot air flowing from Barry is not necessary at this time.

Anyhow, the article does do a good job of explaining how it should work, and why people should not get caught up in the price tag, but in the cost of the assets. What percentage of value will they be purchased at, so that they can turn around and sell them.