Tag: Missouri

Obama and the Ferguson Riots: Community-Organizing By Remote Control

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

ObamaFiddling8142014Yesterday, the President interrupted his taxpayer-funded vacation of Martha’s Vineyard to make a couple of remarks concerning the situation in Iraq and Ferguson, Missouri.

Concerning the situation in Ferguson, he said,

…Of course, it’s important to remember how this started.  We lost a young man, Michael Brown, in heartbreaking and tragic circumstances.  He was 18 years old.  His family will never hold Michael in their arms again.  And when something like this happens, the local authorities –- including the police -– have a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they are investigating that death, and how they are protecting the people in their communities.

“There is never an excuse for violence against police, or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting,” the President said. He added, however, that “there’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests, or to throw protestors in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Here, in the United States of America, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the American people on what they see on the ground.  Put simply, we all need to hold ourselves to a high standard, particularly those of us in positions of authority.
“I know that emotions are raw right now in Ferguson,” he said, “and there are certainly passionate differences about what has happened.” He added that even though there will be differences in both the accounts of how this event occurred, as well as what needs to happen going forward, we should still “remember that we’re all part of one American family.”

We are united in common values, and that includes belief in equality under the law; a basic respect for public order and the right to peaceful public protest; a reverence for the dignity of every single man, woman and child among us; and the need for accountability when it comes to our government. 
“Now is the time for healing,” the President said. “Now is the time for peace and calm on the streets of Ferguson. Now is the time for an open and transparent process to see that justice is done.”

President Obama received a little constructive criticism,  according to thehill.com

The executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police criticized President Obama Thursday for his remarks about law enforcement in Ferguson, Mo. 

“I would contend that discussing police tactics from Martha’s Vineyard is not helpful to ultimately calming the situation,” director Jim Pasco said in an interview with The Hill.

“I think what he has to do as president and as a constitutional lawyer is remember that there is a process in the United States and the process is being followed, for good or for ill, by the police and by the county and by the city and by the prosecutors’ office,” Pasco added. 

Pasco harkened back to 2009, when Obama criticized a Massachusetts police officer for arresting Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, when he was attempting to break into his own home. Obama said the officer had “acted stupidly.”

“That is one where the president spoke precipitously without all the facts,” Pasco said, adding that the current situation “is a much larger and more tragic incident.”

Pasco said both police and members of the public are entitled to due process but said he is not convinced police have used excessive force in Ferguson.

“I’m not there, and neither is the president,” Pasco said. “That is why we have due process in the United States. And this will all be sorted out over time. But right now, I haven’t seen anything from afar — and maybe the president has — that would lead me to believe the police are doing anything except to restore order.”

Obama on Thursday called for “peace and calm on the streets” of Ferguson after “disturbing” clashes between police and protesters stemming from the police killing of an unarmed black teenager.

“There is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting,” Obama said in a statement from where he is vacationing in Massachusetts. “There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.”

The officer involved in the Ferguson shooting is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and is being represented by one of its lawyers. His name has not been released to the public.

Pasco declined to comment on whether Ferguson police should be withholding the officer’s name. 

“I would leave any statements on that to his defense,” he said.

Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) views everything in terms of race. He always has, since the days when he lived with his “typical white person” grandmother, next door to Black Communist, Frank Marshall Davis.

So, his choice for a first job was a no-brainer…

From 1985 – 1988, Obama was a Community Organizer in Chicago.  What does a Community Organizer do?  I’m glad you asked.

Per Byron York in an article found at nationalreview.com:

Community organizing is most identified with the left-wing Chicago activist Saul Alinsky (1909-72), who pretty much defined the profession. In his classic book, Rules for Radicals, Alinsky wrote that a successful organizer should be “an abrasive agent to rub raw the resentments of the people of the community; to fan latent hostilities of many of the people to the point of overt expressions.” Once such hostilities were “whipped up to a fighting pitch,” Alinsky continued, the organizer steered his group toward confrontation, in the form of picketing, demonstrating, and general hell-raising.

Obama was hired by Jerry Kellman, a New Yorker who had gotten into organizing in the 1960s.  Kellman was trying to help laid-off factory workers on the far South Side of Chicago, in a nearly 100% black community.   He led a group, the Calumet Community Religious Conference, that had been created by several local Catholic churches in the industrial community.   Kellman was advised to hire a black organizer for a new spinoff from CCRC.  They called it the Developing Communities Project, designed to focus solely on the Chicago part of the area.

One of Obama’s projects while he was there, was to try to build an alliance of white and black churches and enlist them in the cause of social justice.  Obama had a problem, though.   He didn’t go to church himself.   And that, brothers and sisters, is how Obama, drawn to the preaching of Rev. Jeremiah Wright (and a political opportunity), joined Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street.

If you ask Obama’s fellow Community Organizers what his most significant accomplishments were, they’ll say two things: the expansion of a city summer-job program for South Side teenagers and the removal of asbestos from one of the area’s oldest housing projects.   Those  were his biggest victories.

As President of these United States, Obama is supposed to represent all of us. However, time and time again, he has inserted himself and, subsequently, his Department of Justice, have acted, at his bequest, in shall we say, a ‘political” manner, whenever race was involved.

The death of Michael Brown and the subsequent rioting, by Ferguson’s black residents and out-of-towners, will, no doubt, be handled in the same fashion

As Peter (Herman) Noone sings,

Second Verse…same as the first.

And, that’s not only sad…it’s divisive.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

A Matter of Faith: The Story of the Angelic Priest

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity5 Comments

angel1Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. – Hebrews 13:2 (ESV)

Did you know that the word “angel” comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means “messenger”? The matching Hebrew word mal’ak has the same meaning.

Sometimes, the Bible uses these words for human beings:

ordinary people who carry messages (Job 1:14; Luke 7:24; 9:52)

prophets (Isaiah 42:19; Malachi 3:1)

priests (Malachi 2:7)

church leaders (Rev 1:20)

Sometimes, the Bible speaks figuratively of things or events as “messengers”…

the pillar of cloud (Exodus 14:19)

pestilence or plagues (2 Samuel 24:16-17)

Usually, though, the word describes the whole range of spirits whom God has created, including both good and evil angels, and special categories such as cherubim, seraphim, and the archangel.

Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament.

When human beings see angels, they generally appear in the form of men. In Genesis 18, Abraham welcomed three angelic guests who appeared at first to be nothing more than some travellers. In the following chapter, two angels went to Sodom where they were assumed to be simply a pair of human visitors.

With the possible exception of one passage in Zechariah 5:9, angels always appear as males rather than females (Mark 16:5).

Of course, those of us raised in Christian Homes, have been told of God’s angels all of our lives. Our parents and grandparents have told us that we have a Guardian Angel, assigned by the Lord, to watch over us.

The unchurched among us, learned of Angels through the television series “Touched By an Angel” featuring Della Reese and Roma Downey, who recently produced a series on the Bible for The History Channel.

That televison series about angels started a countrywide fascination with them, leading to all sorts of angel-themed merchandise sales, and what seemed like a nationwide fit of idolatry of them, in which Americans seemed to lose sight of the fact that angels are our servants, assigned to watch over us by their…and our…Master.

A story out of Center, Missouri exploded over all of the Internet yesterday, which has set tongues wagging, as Americans discuss their faith…or lack thereof.

TheBlaze.com has the story…

KHQA-TV is reporting a story that seems virtually unbelievable. After Aaron Smith, 26, struck Katie Lentz, 19, in a head-on car crash on Sunday morning, authorities claim they began a long rescue process. After 60 minutes of trying to get Lentz out of the vehicle (she was pinned between the steering wheel and the seat), rescue crews, at Lentz’s request, prayed out loud for the trapped woman.

And that’s when a mystery priest allegedly appeared. According to accounts, he came out of nowhere and brought intense calm upon the situation.

“He came up and approached the patient, and offered a prayer,” New London Fire Chief Raymond Reed told KHQA-TV. “It was a Catholic priest who had anointing oil with him. A sense of calmness came over her, and it did us as well.”

Considering how many people were at the scene and interacting with the mystery faith leader, the story is a fascinating one.

“I can’t be for certain how it was said, but myself and another firefighter, we very plainly heard that we should remain calm, that our tools would now work and that we would get her out of that vehicle,” the firefighter added.

Now here’s where things get weird. After another fire department showed up, the rescue proceeded easily and the tools worked, as promised. But when nearly a dozen firefighters turned around to thank the priest, he was gone; the road was empty. Considering that the road was blocked off for a quarter of a mile during the rescue and that no cars were around, the scenario, on the surface, seems a bit bizarre.

Lentz’s friends and family want to thank the priest, but, so far, he’s nowhere to be found.

“Where did this guy come from?” Travis Wiseman said, speaking rhetorically about the faith leader . “We’re looking for the priest and so far, no one has seen him. Whether it was a priest as an angel or an actual angel, he was an angel to all those and to Katie.”

Smith has been charged with a DWI, second degree assault and failure to drive on the right side of the road. And the search for the priest forges on.

As I was hanging out at my favorite Conservative website, hotair.com, the inestimable…and atheistiic…AllahPundit, posted the story of the Angelic Priest. It was fascinating to read all the comments of the posters there.

Even though 78% of us Americans proclaim Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior, and 92% of us believe in God, there are still those among us, both believers and non-believers, who have trouble accepting a supernatural event may have occurred Sunday Morning.

I can understand why. The idea of an omnipotent God, filled with love and concern for each one of us, is difficult for our tiny human minds to comprehend at times.

People have a hard time grasping the fact that, as ol’ Billy Shakespeare wrote,

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. – Hamlet (1.5.166-7)

Man has struggled with the reality of God, ever since Adam said to Eve,

I’ll Bite.

And, nowadays, our Christianity is being challenged like never before in this nation, given to us by God, by a dark, libertine culture, where man is his own god, morality is relative and ethics are situational.

Seeking answers, non-believers and those who have wandered away from their American Christian Heritage, turn to whatever they feel will work for them; including, but not limited to, their Horoscope, Buddhism, EST, Self-realization, or substance abuse.

Eventually though, they find that those finite things, cannot fill the gaping hole in their heart. Only the infinite love of the One who became the expiation for their sins can make them complete, and wash them white as snow.

The story of the Angelic Priest causes us all to reflect on our own faith or, as I said before, our lack thereof.

What do you believe? Do you have the faith of a mustard seed?

I firmly believe “Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world.”

I don’t know how people, nowadays especially, live without Him.

I also believe, that, Angel or Priest, that ministering messenger was sent by God.

What do you believe?

Until He Comes,

KJ

Akin: Was It Something I Said?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics12 Comments

Words have weight, something once said cannot be unsaid. Meaning is like a stone dropped into a pool; the ripples will spread and you cannot know what back they wash against.                                – Phillipa Gregory

Take the example of Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO).

From washingtontimes.com:

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus appeared on CNN’s Out Front on Monday evening and spoke to Erin Burnett about the controversial statements made by Rep. Todd Akins, Missouri Republican, regarding rape. He called for Mr. Akin, who is running for Senate against Democrat Claire McCaskill, to “step aside and let someone else run for that office.” Chairman Priebus also said that he “prefer that Todd Akin do the right thing for our party and our candidates” and “not come” to the upcoming RNC Convention in Tampa.

I half-expected Reibus to cover his mouth and start yelling “Unclean! Unclean!”

If you haven’t heard what Akin said, yet, Fox2now.com has a recap of the story for you:

U.S. Rep. Todd Akin says he misspoke when making a comment about rape and abortion during the taping of The Jaco Report on FOX 2. That remark made national headlines and sparked responses from both Akin’s opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

During that interview the congressman and U.S. Senate candidate was asked whether abortion should be allowed in the case of rape.

Akin’s response was that it was his understanding from doctors that it’s rare for someone to become pregnant from rape. He said, “The female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down.”

He went on to say that punishment should be on the rapist and not the child. Democrats started circulating his comment after the show aired citing statistics regarding rape and pregnancy.

“It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape,” said Sen. McCaskill through a statement sent to FOX 2.

The Akin camp responded with a statement indicating the congressman misspoke.

‘But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action.’

The resulting hue and cry from Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, “Fiscal” Conservatives (oops…repeated myself) vaulted this story to the top of the news cycle.

Nationalreview.com has posted the following editorial:

Some voters may nevertheless find a candidate’s theoretical view so abhorrent that they cannot support him, and it is a perfectly legitimate issue for opponents to raise. Most Republicans who hold the view that unborn children have a right to life regardless of the circumstances of their conception will have the wit to explain themselves in a way that prevents most voters who disagree from vetoing them for that reason.

While Akin is a stalwart conservative and an honorable man, we regret to say that he inspires no such confidence. That is one reason why Senator Claire McCaskill, the sitting Democratic senator, boosted him during the Republican primaries with ads calling him a “true conservative.” She knew that she is the weakest Senate incumbent on the ballot this year and that her only hope was to draw a weak opponent. Akin won a three-way primary with a plurality of the vote; there was no run-off. McCaskill’s strategy is now paying off.

Akin has backed off from his remarks, albeit with the politician’s excuse of “misspeaking.” People who make such remarks on television are typically capable of making more like them, or rather incapable of exercising the judgment to refrain. We suspect that this same lack of judgment will cause Akin to blow past tomorrow evening’s deadline for him to leave the race and allow the Republicans to select a better nominee. We hope the congressman, who surely wants to see a Senate with as much conservative strength as possible next year, will prove us wrong.

Abhorrent to some. Just plain stupid to others.

As a Christian man, who was born a month premature, with underdeveloped lungs, my heart is always on the side of the unborn.

My daughter was born with complications, and had to undergo cranial surgery at 5 weeks of age. I had to endure watching my precious little girl being split open from ear-to-ear.

Now she is a wonderful 25 year old, who meets her challenges of a “special” life head-on, with an ear-to-ear grin.

I. along with many others, understand Akin’s heart, but, unfortunately, while Democrats tend to shore up their ranks and defend their own, like a lioness defends her cub (see Bubba Clinton), Republicans tend to banish our wounded, like a leper to a Leper Colony.

And, Rep. Akin shot himself in both feet.

On June 23, 2009, for that very same nationalreview.com, that is now calling for Akin’s resignation, the great American, Dr. Thomas Sowell, wrote the following prophetic words:

The current intramural fighting among Republicans does not necessarily mean any fundamental rethinking of their policies or tactics. These tussles among different segments of the Republican party may be nothing more than a longstanding jockeying for position between the liberal and conservative wings of the party.

The stakes in all this are far higher than which element becomes dominant in which party or which party wins more elections. Both the domestic- and foreign-policy direction of the current administration in Washington are leading this country into dangerous waters, from which we may or may not be able to return.

…Unfortunately, the only political party with any chance of displacing the current leadership in Washington is the Republican party. That is why their internal squabbles are important for the rest of us who are not Republicans.

The “smart money” says that the way for the Republicans to win elections is to appeal to a wider range of voters — including minorities — by abandoning the kinds of positions Ronald Reagan held and supporting more of the kinds of positions that Democrats use to get elected. This sounds good on the surface, which is as far as many people go when it comes to politics.

A corollary to this is that Republicans have to come up with alternatives to the Democrats’ many “solutions,” rather than simply be naysayers.

However plausible all this may seem, it goes directly counter to what has actually happened in politics in this generation. For example, Democrats studiously avoided presenting alternatives to what the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration were doing, and just lambasted them at every turn. That is how the Democrats replaced Republicans at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Ronald Reagan won two elections in a landslide by being Ronald Reagan — and, most important of all — by explaining to a broad electorate how what he advocated would be best for them and for the country. Newt Gingrich likewise led a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives by explaining how the Republican agenda would benefit a wide range of people.

Neither of them won by pretending to be Democrats. It is the mushy “moderates” — the “kinder and gentler” Bush 41, Bob Dole, and John McCain — who lost disastrously, even in two cases to Democrats who were initially very little known, but who knew how to talk.

And, unfortunately for Akin, “words have weight”.