Mr. Kincaid observes:
"My Catholic priest, Father Larry Swink, delivered a homily on Sunday that I told him would make headlines. In the toughest sermon I have ever heard from a pulpit, he attacked the Obama Administration as evil, even demonic, and warned of religious persecution ahead. What was also newsworthy about the sermon was that he cited The Washington Post in agreement--not on the subject of the Obama Administration being evil, but on the matter of its abridgment of the constitutional right to freedom of religion.""What is happening is extraordinary and unprecedented. The Catholic Church is in open revolt against the Obama Administration, with Fr. Swink noting from the pulpit that priests across the archdiocese were joining the call on Sunday to rally Catholics to resistance against the U.S. Government. He said we are entering a time of religious persecution and that Catholics and others will have to make a final decision about which side they are on."
"The issue is what the Catholic Bishops have called a 'literally unconscionable' edict by the Obama Administration demanding that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans."
"At a time when the media are full of reports about who is ahead and behind in the polls, and who will win the next Republican presidential primary, this incredible uprising in the Catholic Church is something that could not only overshadow the political campaign season, but also may have a major impact on the ultimate outcome--if Republicans know how to handle it. This matter goes beyond partisan politics to the growing perception of an unconstitutional Obama Administration assault on religious freedom. To hear the Catholic Bishops and Priests describe it, our constitutional republic and our freedoms hang in the balance."
Indeed, this unprecedented assault on our freedom of conscience and our constitutionally guaranteed religious freedoms, seems more like the kind of power struggle that a petty monarch would have waged against the Church during the Middle Ages, usurping the power of the Church and abrogating to himself the authority to arbitrarily dictate Church policy and doctrine, than something coming out of the White House in the 21st Century! But, then again, though not a king, we do have a petty despot in the White House, too full of himself for his own good!
Mr. Kincaid summarizes by pointing out:
"Some may see this battle as just another church-state dust-up that will be resolved through litigation. But when apocalyptic imagery is used, such as what I heard at my church on Sunday, one must wonder if there is an awakening on the part of the Catholic community and if there is something else going on here besides politics as usual. In short, is the Catholic Church beginning to finally recognize the real nature of the Obama Administration."
Let us hope indeed that this serves as a clarion call, to all Americans of good faith, that they may see the inherent evil in the godless, amoral, secularist policies and agenda being foisted inch by inch upon us by the Obama Administration, and put a timely stop to it come November....before we have traveled much further along down the road of despotism, and the ruin of our nation!
Gallup tracks daily the percentage of U.S. adults in the workforce, ages 18 and older, who are underemployed, unemployed, and employed full-time for an employer, without seasonal adjustment. "Underemployed" respondents are employed part time, but want to work full time, or they are unemployed. "Unemployed" respondents are those within the underemployed group who are not employed, even for one hour a week, but are available and looking for work. Respondents "Employed Full Time for an Employer" are those who are employed by an employer for at least 30 hours per week. Daily results reflect 30-day rolling averages based on telephone interviews with approximately 30,000 adults. Because results are not seasonally adjusted, they are not directly comparable to numbers reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which are based on workers 16 and older. Margin of error is (plus or minus) 1 percentage point.Related:
I've felt for sometime, deep down in my gut, that Santorum is a big government guy that, like Barack Obama, talks a good game on fiscal responsibility, but does the opposite and has no management skills. What I just read at the link confirms it.
The guy even voted for Sotomayor!
Doesn't sound very conservative to me. In fact, his actual record makes Romney seem like a right-winger. The only thing conservative about him is that he is indeed pro-life.
]]>One point about the Obama Administration is significant but has been little remarked on -- the global failure of its foreign policies. These failures have taken different forms in different parts of the world, but looking at the big picture one fact is obvious: Obama's leftism and denigration of the U.S. does not appear to have won the U.S. a single friend even among leftist and anti-U.S. regimes and individuals.Continue reading here.One cannot call this Obama's own failure with certainty, because his personal agenda, if any, remains a mystery. Nonetheless, the fact remains that the most left-wing U.S. President ever, and a far-left Secretary of State, have failed to modify the anti-Americanism of any significant left-wing government or movement anywhere is the world.
[...] There was some hope at the time of Obama's inauguration that his administration might lead to a softening of relations with Iran. Instead relations have moved to the verge of war. In Egypt Mubarak has been removed with Obama's encouragement -- now 19 American NGO workers, who has been teaching civics unmolested under Mubarak have been arrested and it has been announced that they will be put on trial. The aim is plainly a break in relations with the U.S. It is also reported that Egypt is again allowing arms shipments into Gaza. Influential figures in the new Egyptian Government have been telling the U.S. they no longer want its aid despite the fact Egypt's precious tourism industry has been wrecked. Does this mean they are looking to a resumption of Russian aid? And don't forget he's managed to alienate Israel as well. Could the "Arab Spring" have been handled better from the US point of view? It is impossible to say, but it is hard to imagine how it could have been handled worse.
The crazy states of North Korea and Venezuela have not modified their behavior in the slightest since Obama succeeded Bush, except perhaps to get a bit crazier. Hugo Chavez raves against Obama as incoherently as he did against Bush and is increasing the systematic violation of human rights.
The same goes for Putin's Russia. We all know that it was Ronald Reagan who converted the Russia of Gorbachev and Yeltsin from the supreme enemy into, at least temporarily, something like a friend, and did so without compromising, but on the contrary by reaffirming, U.S. principles.
It is China, not the U.S., that is increasingly penetrating the wealthier parts of Africa. Gaddafi, before he was overthrown and murdered, gave some signs of moving towards rationality and a friendlier stance. His successors' position is ambiguous.
And what about Obama's Whacko scheme to turn NASA into a feel-good psychotherapeutic agency to make Muslims feel better about their lack of achievements in modern science? I haven't exactly noticed any Muslim gratitude.
It wasn't suppose to be this way. Barack Obama promised hope and change, not despair and deterioration of America's position in the world. His rhetoric sounded so grand, but all it's brought us is a US government that openly supports anti-American, radical, authoritarian, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-women rights' movements and regimes all over the world.
Under previous administrations the friends of our allies were our friends ... now the enemies of our allies are our 'friends' ... and they hate us. Go figure!
]]>So, what's the GOP to do? Let him have his way and watch the debt explode!
Tyler Durden writes at ZeroHedge:
Two weeks ago when discussing the latest lunacy surrounding America's exponential curve #1 also known as its debt balance, we suggested what the GOP election strategy should be: "[if] the debt ceiling becomes a sticking point at the election, Obama's chances of reelection plunge. Which makes us wonder -- will Republicans grasp that the paradox of defeating Obama is precisely in giving him a carte blanche on all the stimulus programs he wants? Because if Congress approves another $200, 300 or even $400 billion in stimulus pork (the only thing better than one Solyndra? One thousand Solyndras!) the Treasury will drown in the need to raise hundreds of billions more, and will in fact hit the ceiling well in advance of the elections. As for the stimulus projects themselves, they will crash and burn just like all centrally planned endeavors, and actually result in a far worse outcome than if they had never been attempted. [Because] the best way to finally get back to a fiscally prudent regime? Why go to town, of course." We were delighted to discover that our policy anti-recommendation has finally been adopted. Because as the WSJ reports when it comes to the latest payroll tax extension we find something quite stunning: "House Republican leaders said Monday they would introduce a bill extending the payroll-tax break for the rest of the year without finding spending cuts to offset the program's cost. The proposal marks a major shift for Republicans, who previously had insisted that the costs of extending a trio of provisions expiring at the end of the month be offset with spending cuts." That's right -- no offsetting spending cuts. Which means one thing -- much more debt. How much more? At least $160 billion much. Which means that the debt ceiling discussion will hit not in November as we speculated previously, but potentially as soon as September.Much more here.It also means that by the time the GOP candidate is debating Obama the primary topic of discussion will be just how much the Administration is plundering from government retirement and pension accounts to keep the country under the latest and greatest (and just upwardly revised) $16.4 trillion debt ceiling.
As Glenn Reynolds aptly points out, it's Obama's weakness -- but can America survive it?
Related: Hill & Dems Crow: GOP Retreats On Tax Cut! (The Republicans cannot win with the news media. They are blasted for refusing to compromise. And when they compromise, they are blasted for retreating.)
]]>... It is the month in which liberals attempt to convince us that race relations in America have progressed very little since the days of police unleashing dogs on civil rights activists.Yet, however much the Democrats claim the mantel of being the champions of racial equality, it is not only undeserved, it goes against the fact that it is the Republicans brought blacks out of slavery and brought about racial equality in America.Rather than presenting a balanced, honest look at black history, leftist schoolteachers and the media say America is still racist and whites should feel eternally guilty. Also included in the left's message is that blacks must continue to vote monolithically for Democrats in order to keep rich white Republican racists at bay. Yes, for the most part, Black History Month is a propaganda tool of the Democratic party.
Michael Dorstewitz explains at Biz Pac:
February may be our shortest month, but it's filled with notable events. This month, we celebrate Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year and Washington's Birthday. We also commemorate President's Day as well as every lover's favorite, Valentine's Day. February has also been reserved as Black History Month. After doing just a little digging, I was struck by the significant role the Republican Party played in not only emancipating slaves in the antebellum South, but also in accepting and elevating them into American society. I was also amazed by how often the Democratic Party thwarted the GOP's efforts.Take the time to read the whole thing. As Dorstewitz goes on to aptly point out, it's long past time that we use "Black History Month" to do just that -- teach black history. It's one of the most enriching and eye-opening segments of American politics.After the Civil War, the 13th Amendment, putting an end to slavery, was passed by a 100 percent Republican vote; only 23 percent of the Democrats joined in. Amendment 14, granting blacks the civil rights enjoyed by all citizens, passed with 94 percent Republican participation; this time, not a single Democrat voted for it. The 15th Amendment, which gave blacks access to the voting booth, was passed with 98 percent of Republicans voting for it, and 97 percent of Democrats voting against it.
During Reconstruction, 23 blacks were elected to Congress -- all Republicans. The first black Democrat wasn't elected until 1935 -- from Illinois. The first Southern African-American Democrat wasn't elected to Congress until 1973.
Are we beginning to see a trend here? Buckle up; I'm just getting started.
In 1892, Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress as well as the White House. In 1894, Jim Crow laws were enacted throughout the South, limiting African-Americans' access to the voting booth through onerous poll taxes, and impossible literacy tests. Congressional Democrats also repealed all civil rights legislation previously enacted by the Republicans. In 1912, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson allowed the Jim Crow laws to spread to the federal government. We didn't see another piece of civil rights legislation until the Eisenhower administration in 1957. Yep, another Republican.
It's also time for blacks to learn that it is the Democratic Party that is holding them down, and playing them as suckers. As Lloyd Marcus has pointed out, every program which demeans and stifles blacks has come and continues to come from the Democrats. Republicans continue to be the party extremely supportive of black individuality, the party full of nurturers of black entrepreneurial success.
Democrats still want to keep blacks on their plantation of needing government handouts -- thus keeping blacks dependent on government, thus keeping blacks voting for Democrats, who promise to give them stuff via programs. To make their scam work, Democrats also tell blacks that Republicans are burning the midnight oil planning ways to "keep them down." Thus, you blacks need us Democrats to keep evil rich white Republicans off your backs.Again, it's black history month ... so let the education begin!]]>In a nutshell, blacks are being played by the Democrats. So you can imagine my frustration and impatience with ignorant knuckleheads who trash me for being a Republican. I am working to liberate my people -- to ensure that they be treated with dignity and respect, and not as needy, inferior supplicants.
In the words of Politico's David Rogers:
He ran on hope, governed through despair and now, with his election-year budget, President Barack Obama is trying to light the old spark, fleshing out a political narrative for America that can inspire with its romance but also seem borderline delusional to his critics given the debt accumulated by Washington.I did say that it's a safe bet that if Politico calls Obama's budget "delusional," then his budget is indeed "delusional," at best. In reality, it is indeed worse than delusional. A rational and reasoned man or woman will call this not only "delusional," but totally irresponsible and nothing more than a campaign ploy. As for it being "romantic" ... it's about as romantic as your family going hungry while you spend your family's very last dollar on a lotto ticket.But even as Obama is speaking, the budget rollout in Washington will show a fourth year of $1 trillion-plus deficits and a 2013 shortfall of $901 billion -- nearly twice the share of GDP that Obama predicted four years ago.
But even as Obama is speaking, the budget rollout in Washington will show a fourth year of $1 trillion-plus deficits and a 2013 shortfall of $901 billion -- nearly twice the share of GDP that Obama predicted four years ago.
Apparently, Obama doesn't know or doesn't care about our national debt (now at $15.4 trillion and growing rapidly every second)that's racing us toward becoming as broke as Greece. Meanwhile, his delusion extends to stripping our military in the midst of one of the most dangerous times in our history, moving our military forces out of the Middle East where conflict and war are rampant and a nuclear Iran threatening nuclear war on Israel and the U.S., and focusing on Asia where there is no imminent threat either now or on the horizon (the loony N. Koreans are not threatening to attack the U.S. ... for them their nuclear arsenal has proven to be more of a tool for extorting cash - which we are usually dumb enough to give them).
]]>Jacob Lew told "Fox News Sunday" that the compromise offered last week to address objections by the Catholic Church is clear and consistent with the president's "very deep belief that a woman has a right to all forms of preventive health care, including contraception."What is "clear" here is that Barack Obama has complete disdain and disregard for religious freedom, Christianity, and the Constitution. He's, as Mark Stein suggests, gone Henry XVIII:
"The president of the United States has decided to go Henry VIII on the Church's medieval ass. Whatever religious institutions might profess to believe in the matter of 'women's health,' their pre-eminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities and immunities are now subordinate to a one-and-only supreme head on earth determined to repress, redress, restrain and amend their heresies. ..."As Doug Powers aptly notes, Obama telegraphed where he'd be coming from on this (and related) issues in a 2008 speech making it "clear" which side must come out on top in a dispute between the State and the Church in order for society as a whole to be better off.
According to Obama, what it comes down to is - in a diverse democratic society, any proposed policy must justify itself via the benefits he and his far-left constituency see, rather than via arguments that may only hold true to people who have a particular religious view that he disagrees with. In other words, in Obama's world, Obama knows best and to hell with the Constitution. He has no problem going where no president has ever gone before him - attacked the Constitutional right of religious freedom for sake of what's best for the collective "all" - as determined by him and him alone.
However, as pointed out at The Weekly Standard in it's 'No Precedent for the Government Ordering Private Companies to Offer a Product for Free'... "This issue goes well beyond the issue of religious freedom, and it highlights the unprecedented threats to limited government and liberty that Obamacare poses to all Americans, from the most devout Catholic to the most committed atheist. Americans are faced with two choices: politicized medicine and an unprecedented consolidation of power and control in Washington, or repeal."
And as Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik put it in a letter published in his diocesan newspaper, on Jan. 20, " ...the Obama administration answered you and me. The response was very simple: 'To hell with you.'" Bishop Zubik went on to say:
"This is government by fiat that attacks the rights of everyone ... At no other time in memory or history has there been such a governmental intrusion on freedom. It undermines the whole concept and hope for healthcare reform by inextricably linking it to the zealotry of pro-abortion bureaucrats. The mandate would require the Catholic Church as an employer to violate its fundamental beliefs concerning human life and human dignity .... It is really hard to believe that it happened."Unfortunately, it has indeed happened and it's very unlikely to change unless Barack Obama is voted out of office in November.
People of faith and all who value the Constitution need to recall that, just as Paul Kengorall writes at Crisis Magazine, all of this was so painfully predictable back in November 2008, when a majority of professing Roman Catholics voted Barack Obama president. This time all people of faith need to remember that you reap what you sow.
]]>But, all levity and lack of modesty on my part aside, in his article today at the "Orange County Register", Mr. Steyn perspicaciously observes:
"Announcing his support for Commissar Sebelius' [do you mean "High Priestess of Moloch" in charge of child sacrifice?] edicts on contraception, sterilization, and pharmacological abortion, that noted theologian [and 'Civil Rights Welfare Pimp' and black bigot] the Most Reverend Al Sharpton explained: 'If we are going to have a separation of church and state, we're going to have a separation of church and state.''I could have added: "can we please have a "Separation of State and Obama"?
Steyn goes on to say:
"Thanks for clarifying that [Rev. Sharpton]. The church model the young American state wished to separate from was that of the British monarch, who remains to this day Supreme Governor of the Church of England. This convenient arrangement dates from the 1534 Act of Supremacy. The title of the law gives you the general upshot, but, just in case you're a bit slow on the uptake, the text proclaims 'the King's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England.' That's to say, the sovereign is 'the only supreme head on earth of the Church' and he shall enjoy 'all honors, dignities, pre-eminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits and commodities to the said dignity,' not to mention His Majesty 'shall have full power and authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, record, order, correct, restrain and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, offenses, contempts and enormities, whatsoever they be.'"Steyn then elaborates:"Welcome to Obamacare."
"The president of the United States has decided to go Henry VIII on the Church's medieval ass. Whatever religious institutions might profess to believe in the matter of 'women's health,' their pre-eminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities and immunities are now subordinate to a one-and-only supreme head on earth determined to repress, redress, restrain and amend their heresies. One wouldn't wish to overextend the analogy: For one thing, the Catholic Church in America has been pathetically accommodating of Beltway bigwigs' ravenous appetite for marital annulments in a way that Pope Clement VII was disinclined to be vis-a-vis the English king and Catherine of Aragon. But where'd all the pandering get them? In essence, President Obama has embarked on the same usurpation of church authority as Henry VIII: as his Friday morning faux-compromise confirms, the continued existence of a 'faith-based institution depends on submission to the doctrinal supremacy of [Obama] the state."Steyn then goes on to quote Dr. Mohler, of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:
"We will soon learn," wrote Dr. Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, "just how much faith is left in faith-based institutions." Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's vicar on earth, has sportingly offered to maintain religious liberty for those institutions engaged in explicit religious instruction to a largely believing clientele. So we're not talking about mandatory condom dispensers next to the pulpit at St. Pat's - not yet. But that is not what it means to be a Christian: The mission of a Catholic hospital is to minister to the sick. When a guy shows up in Emergency, bleeding all over the floor, the nurse does not first establish whether he is Episcopalian or Muslim; when an indigent is in line at the soup kitchen the volunteer does not pause the ladle until she has determined whether he is a card-carrying Papist. The government has redefined religion as equivalent to your Sunday best: You can take it out for an hour to go to church, but you gotta mothball it in the closet the rest of the week. So Catholic institutions cannot comply with Commissar Sebelius [a Catholic Apostate herself, and self-appointed "High Priestess of Moloch"] and still be in any meaningful sense Catholic.Dr. Mohler is absolutely right; so is Steyn: It is high time that the Catholic Church, which for so long has, as they both point out the Catholic Church in America has been "pathetically accommodating"! To hell with "political correctness" and "multicilturalism"! Indeed Pope Clement VII would not , could not, betray the dogma and teachings of the Catholic Church - at the peril of losing England to Protestantism - to accommodate the "whims" of a narcissistic English king's desire to annul his marriage to his lawful wife, Catherine of Aragon, all because she had not given him a male heir! Likewise we cannot, will not, betray our Catholic Principles and our commitment to "Life" and the "Lord and Giver of Life" because of the whims of this petty despot in the White House, Obama! At least Henry, for all his faults, was truly a King!
But where has all the pandering of our Bishops and Archbishops to Washington, and "political correctness" gotten us? What indeed has all their subservience to secularism gotten them? Bringing us all to this juncture?
It is high time for the Roman Catholic Church in America, which claims to be the One True Church of Christ, with an uninterrupted line of Bishops of Rome back to St. Peter and the Apostles, which is the "Body of Christ", to remember its role in this world as adjudicators! Our Holy Father Benedict XVI (the "Rottweiler of God" - probably one of the greatest Theologians of the Catholic Church since St, Thomas of Aquinas), would agree! It is high time Catholic Bishops and the Church of Rome take once again upon themselves the role of Canonical Judges upon this wicked world!
Such as Catholic "Apostate" Katheleen Sebelius, who stands for all that the Church hates and condemns. Who is but a governmental "High Priestess" to the demon-god of the Phoenicians, Moloch, to whom she and her ilk sacrifice the late-term newborn, and the aborted children, in the name of her misguided secularism! She whispers like a demon, in Obama's ears...
When will the Catholic Church say "enough is enough" and start Excommunicating such as John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and the abortion-crazed , "High Priestess of Moloch", Katheleen Sebelius!
Say what you will, but for Katheleen Sebelius ... 'in charge of child sacrifice, edicts on contraception, sterilization, and pharmacological abortion,' ... there's just gotta be a special place set apart for her...in Hell.
Related: Take the time to read all of Mark Steyn's "Mark Steyn: Obama goes Henry VIII on the church."
]]>Now, you can honestly say you've heard it all.
]]>According to none other than the Catholic Church's publication, "The Vatican Insider", in an article by Gerard O'Connell, the U.S. Army, undoubtedly compelled by the Obama Administration and the Pentagon, recently prevented Catholic Chaplains from reading a Bishop's pastoral letter, at mass, calling on Catholics to resist the Obama administration's new policy requiring employers to include contraceptive care in employee health insurance plans:
ROME: "The U.S. Army prevented Catholic chaplains in the military services from reading a pastoral letter from their bishop at all masses on Sunday, January 29, in violation of the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution."What is this?!?! So, now our "Henry VIII" in the White House, is the one who will dictate at his "royal whim" what can be said by a Bishop of the "Church of America" in a pastoral letter to his flock, and or censor what is preached from the pulpit?!?!"The letter from the Catholic Archbishop for Military Services, Timothy Broglio, called for resistance to the Obama administration's policy directive that requires most employer health-insurance plans in the United States to include provision for contraceptives - including sterilization and abortifacient drugs. The administration presents this provision as part of a worker's compensation."
"According to the policy, exemptions could be granted only for 'religious employers' which have as their purpose the 'inculcation of religious values', which 'primarily employs persons who share the religious tenets of the organization', and which 'serves primarily persons who share the religious tenets of the organization.'"
"But, as the Head of the Catholic Charities USA observed, 'the ministry of Jesus Christ himself' would not qualify for the exemption. Nor would Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic hospitals (which care for 1 in 6 patients in the country), food banks, shelters for the homeless, and many Catholic schools. Some diocesan offices would not qualify, much less would Catholic business owners who strive to conduct their businesses in accordance with their religious beliefs."
"The policy directive was issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), headed by a Catholic [Apostate, and rabid abortion supporter], Kathleen Sibelius. It allowed Catholic employers one year to make such provision. Employers which violate the HHS mandate, and fail to provide the coverage the HHS deems necessary under the Affordable Care Act, incur an annual penalty of approximately US$2000 per employee. The only alternative for Catholic employers who object to the HHS mandate would be to cease operating."
"The policy was immediately opposed by the Catholic Church in the United States, led by New York's Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan, President of the Bishops Conference, who called on fellow bishops to express their opposition to the measure. Subsequently, pastoral letters were read at masses in churches throughout the country on Sunday, January 29, but not in US Army Chapels."
"Archbishop Broglio e-mailed his pastoral letter to the Catholic military chaplains on January 26, with instructions that it be read at all masses in military chapels on the following Sunday, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Military Services, on February 3."
"In the letter, he called on Catholics 'to resist the policy initiative, recently affirmed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, for federally mandated health insurance covering sterilization, abortifacients and contraception, because it represents a violation of the freedom of religion recognized by the U.S. Constitution.'"
"Subsequently, however, the Army's Office of the Chief of Chaplains sent an email to senior chaplains 'advising them that the Archbishop's letter was not coordinated with that office and asked that it not be read from the pulpit', the statement revealed. It said the Chief's office 'directed that the letter was to be mentioned in the Mass announcements and distributed in printed form in the back of the chapel.'"
"Basing himself on solid legal precedent, the Archbishop charged that the Army directive 'constituted a violation of his Constitutionally-protected right of free speech and the free exercise of religion, as well as those same rights of all military chaplains and their congregants', the statement said."
"The archbishop, a former Vatican diplomat and private secretary to the Cardinal Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, discussed the matter with the Secretary of the Army, John McHugh."
"During the discussion, 'it was agreed that it was a mistake to stop the reading of the Archbishop's letter', the statement said. Moreover, it revealed that the Archbishop agreed to remove the line in the pastoral letter that said: 'We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law.' He did so, at the suggestion of Secretary McHugh 'over the concern that it could potentially be misunderstood as a call to civil disobedience' [which it rightfully is!]."
What's next? Catholic Bishops and clergymen being persecuted, imprisoned, and thrown to the proverbial lions?!?! All the while, while Obama's "High Priestess of Abortion" - Katheleen Sebelius - keeps offering aborted fetuses as "burnt offerings" to her demon-god, Moloch, throughout abortion clinics all over America?!?!
"King Obama VIII, as 'Anointed One', abrogates to himself being the Titular Head of the 'Church of America'"?!?! Really? You don't say! Will there ever be a limit, to this petty despot's "Hubris"?
The bishops also say that "the law remains a grave moral concern" and is "unacceptable."
The Weekly Standard has the full statement.
]]>As the Catholic League so aptly points out:
"President Obama's latest ploy just adds insult to injury. If the insurance plan of a Catholic institution must cover services it deems immoral, then such a healthcare plan is [in itself] offensive, [immoral, and totally unacceptable according to the teachings of the Church] plain and simple."In other words, Obama is just passing the buck when he disingenuously claims that it will not be the Catholic institutions, but the insurance companies, who will be reaching out those employees and providing them with contraceptives and abortifacients. The two problems with such an Obama feat of sleight-of-hand, is that in the end, whether provided by the Catholic institution itself, or its insurer, this arrangement in the end results in the very consequences that the Catholic institution finds abhorrent and contrary to Church teaching, not to mention it is simply ludicrous that insurance companies will simply swallow the added expenses of providing said services, just because the "Anointed One" said so, and not eventually pass on the added cost to the religious institutions, which, in the end, will eventually wind up picking up the tab in increased premiums for those services - something that is so egregious and abhorrant to their core beliefs as Catholics! Nothing has changed!
Obama, in this controversy of his own making, is but playing the part of the "Devil's Shyster", while Sebelious, at his side, is the "Priestess of Moloch' that whispers in his ear....much like Rev. Wright did, in his church of racial hatred and resentment for twenty years!
Imagine if CAIR or some other Muslim institution in America would be forced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide pork to its employees, on the grounds that not all of its employees, some of which may not be Muslim, follow a "Halal" diet, and using the argument that pork is actually leaner and healthier than red meat, and is good for you, and that making available leaner, healthier, pork to all Americans was the new "Obamacare Federal Dietary Mandate"! The outcry in the mainstream media would be thunderous and immediate, MSNBC pundits would cut the varicose veins on their "feel-an-Obama-thrill-running-up" legs in outrage, American flags would be burned by crowds of enraged Islamists, and our embassies would surely be set on fire all over the world in Muslim lands!
However, when it comes to Catholics, Barack Obama indolently and callously disdains Catholic dogma, and Church teachings and sensitivities, and spurred on by his HHS Secretary Katheleen Sebelius - who worships at the altar of the Democrat's "sacrosanct" abortion and infanticide, which they fashion as "women's reproductive rights" - has dug-in his liberal, secularist, doctrinaire, political heels, ignoring the far reaching implications of this most unfortunate and despotic decision on his part, and reneging on the assurances he personally gave Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, to the contrary, now adamantly insists that under his disastrous Obamacare mandate, Catholic hospitals, schools, and other Catholic institutions be forced to provide insurance coverage of contraception and the so called "morning after" abortifacient pill, both of which are totally contrary and abhorrent to Church teaching and Catholic dogma, and would theologically be considered a mortal sin for Catholics in those institutions to provide!
You know, for a man who fancies himself such a savvy "multiculturalist", and boasts to be so "erudite and knowledgeable", Barack Obama seems to be quite ignorant of history, and or of the far reaching consequences of his decision to advance his pro-abortion zealotry with total disregard for the religious rights and freedoms of others, guaranteed by our Constitution.
Back under the reign of that other narcissistic despot, Henry VIII of England, when Henry, wishing to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon because she had not given him a male heir to the throne, threatened Pope Clement VII with having the Church of England break away with Rome if he did not acceded to his demands, the Pope, when finding there were no grounds for the annulment, even at the expense of losing England to Protestantism, could not dogmatically, and would not, annul Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine. Likewise, Catholic institutions cannot dogmatically, and will not, provide contraceptives and abortifacients, even if it violates American Federal law, Catholic institutions are fined, and Catholic clergymen are imprisoned! In this case, our boastful narcissist-in-chief, may find to his chagrin, he just picked the wrong fight! If the millenarian Catholic Church stood fast by its doctrine and its principles in the face of Henry VIII - even though knowing full well it meant the loss of England to Protestantism in one of the most challenging and tumultuous periods in Church history - it will not falter now, in the face of this petty Moorish despot in the White House!
On the other hand, maybe such an assault to our religious freedoms was necessary to reawaken Christians, and particularly Catholics, in this country from their cowering slumber! For decades Christianity has been under attack by the progressivist liberal forces, which virulently assault it at every turn and at every chance they get! It is time that as American Christians and Catholics we assert our rights as Americans to unapologetically worship with freedom of conscience according to the tenets of our faith!
Bill Maher is not a comedian. That is not comedy, but outright offensive, leftist, atheistic, secularist propaganda being passed as "comedy"! There is nothing funny about his hatred of us and all we believe in! The war is not on "Christmas", but on "Christ"!
Enough "Madonnas in Dung" and "Crucifixes in Urine" by godless people whose ulterior motives are not "artistic", but to mock, dehumanize, and belittle our faith! What would the "politically correct" media say if some "artist" made a representation of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, in dung? The outcry and the outrage would stink to high heavens, wouldn't it!
Ah, but see that would be different! The same as if that self-same U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that wants now to force Catholic institutions to provide for services that are contrary to Catholic teaching, were to force Muslims to provide pork in Muslim institutions because it is a healthier and leaner meat - as I pointed out in the beginning of this piece - then, we would not hear the end of it, either, would we! Hell, such a thing would be deemed "politically incorrect" to just even think, about thinking about it!
Oh, but, when it comes "Madonnas in Dung", "Crucifixes in Urine", or forcing Catholic institutions to provide for contraception and abortifacients that are Anathema to their beliefs - Oh, that is perfectly alright!
I know Jesus admonished us to "turn the other cheek", but enough is enough! It is high time that Christians, in particular Catholics, stop cowering, shackled in the chains of today's "political correctness," affirm our Faith, and say to the secularists that would deny us our liberty and the freedom to worship, that yes, we want to keep "Christ in Christmas" because after all, that is what Christmas is all about - "Redemption", and not all the hedonistic boozing and the partying, the gluttony and overindulgence, and all the profligate spending on worthless baubles; that abortion is the outright "murder" of the innocent, and contrary to the teachings of the Church and the "Uses of Life"; and that sodomy, homosexuality, and lesbianism, are inherently but an "aberration," an "abomination," and wrong; and there is nothing "Alternate" about such abnormal and negative behavior! That this is what the Bible and the Church teaches us, and we believe as Christians and Catholics, and that if it offends anyone's "politcal correctness" and or their depraved hedonistic "moral relativism"...TOUGH!
This controversy will also bring forth to the front a very touchy issue, which it is high time the Catholic Church broaches.
No Catholic Bishop or Archbishop wants to excommunicate anybody. But, for years secularist Catholic politicians, not only here, but abroad, have spoused, supported, and promoted, all sorts of abominations contrary to Church teaching, such as abortion, euthanasia, and gay marriage, disingenuously claiming that though they "personally believe as the Church does", they cannot enforce their views on their constituents who may not be Catholic or Christian, and that therefore, that is why they support - as politicians - such political positions.
Some, like Nancy Pelosi, have even had the audacity, the gall, and the hypocrisy to meet with the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, while avidly advocating and promoting the abortions and gay marriages agenda! One cannot serve two masters...
Catholic Bishops and Archbishops, undoubtedly not presuming to know the consciences of such Apostate Catholic lawmakers, and or come between them and God with such a consequential separation as that of Excommunicating them, have for years looked the other way, or chastised them mildly, but, until when? When will the Kerrys, Pelosis, and Bidens of this world feel the weight of the righteous Canonical Jurisprudence of their Catholic Church? Until when will Catholic Bishops and Archbishops exchange niceties, shake hands, and give communion to all these infernal betrayers, who then go on to advance their immoral liberal agenda of hedonism, sexual aberrations, and infanticide? Isn't it high time, in the face of the present controversy, that the Catholic Church remembered what its place as God's arbiter in this world is, and begin to Excommunicate all these Apostate Catholic politicians?
One particularly egregious case, that indeed clamors for the Church's Judicial Canonical examination towards outright Excommunication on the part of her Bishop, is that of the infamous aforementioned Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Katheleen Sebelius - the chief architect of this onerous Obama mandate that so fragrantly infringes upon what supposedly should be her own Catholic values and our American religious liberties - who, though born and raised a Roman Catholic in her native Cincinnati, Ohio, and to this day nominally a Catholic, yet she has been one of the most rabid and virulent promoters and supporters of abortion, particularly of late-term abortions in her state of Kansas, worshiping at the Democrat's altar to "women's reproductive rights" which categorizes an unwanted pregnancy as an "undesirable disease" and thus medically would deal with it as such, even until barely days before said pregnancy is due to come to term!
In Sebelius case, it is generally agreed that politically she owes her initial election as Governor of Kansas, largely to the help and financial support of the late, infamous, "post-viability" late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller "The Baby Killer" and hundreds of thousands of dollars of his "blood money" contribution which he donated to her campaign, and to the Kansas pro-abortion Lobby. In return Sebelius paid him back by vetoing a number of pro-life bills that would have restricted Tiller's abortion business, and even hosted in recognition a lavish private party at the Governor's Mansion, in April of 2007, exclusively for Tiller and his entire abortion clinic staff of butchers!
During the subsequent investigation and the filing of thirty criminal charges against Dr. Tiller related to late-term abortions by then State Attorney General Phill Kline, then Governor Sebelius not only remained a staunch ally of Dr. Tiller, but used the considerable power of her Office to impede Kline from bringing him to justice, and to influence the outcome of the proceedings in Tiller' favor!
In order to thwart Kline's efforts to prosecute her politcal mentor,Tiller, Sebelius, who was known for appointing ideological soul-mates to positions throughout the state government that would protect abortionists from accountability to the law, hand-picked, Paul Morrison, a once Republican turn-coat now turned Democrat, to run against Kline in the elections, with the intent of halting Kline's investigation into Tiller, and the abortion clinics in Kansas.
Once Morrison won the election, however, even Morrison, under intense political pressure, was forced by the evidence to indict Dr. Tiller on nineteen counts of criminal charges of having committed illegal late-term abortions without the second concurring signature of a Kansas physician who is legally and financially unaffiliated with him.
Later, when Morrison was forced to resign in disgrace, after being exposed in a sex and abortion corruption scandal involving a former employee and lover, Linda Carter, whom he allegedly pressured to "spy" on Kline's investigations as District Attorney for the purpose of impeding them (on Sebelius' behalf?), Sebelius appointed yet another rabid pro-abortion advocate to the post, Steve Six, whose tenure was marred by a contentious and scandal-ridden political battle over the indictments against Dr. Tiller and Planned Parenthood, which had also been investigated and indicted on one hundred seven criminal counts!
Naturally, as a reward for all the obstruction of justice on the part of Sebelius as Governor, of her abuse of power during the Kline investigation; as reward for all the scandals surrounding the handling of those cases by those she appointed, and for their lack of competency; but most of all for her dogged and unflinching commitment to the abortion industry, and her virulent secular, liberal, values; Obama appointed her Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, since, of course, there is no greater "Human Services" a government can provide, than for a woman to have an abortion! In Obama's eyes, Sebelius was, of course, perfect for the job!
Given the analogy between the ancient Phoenician practice of offering their newborns to their demon-god, Moloch, as "burnt offerings", and the fact that aborted fetuses are disposed of in abortion clinics by incinerating them, one can almost say that rather than worshiping at the Democrats' altar to "women's reproductive rights" and or "women's health", Katheleen Sebelius seems to be rather worshiping at the altar to "Moloch", and seems quite devout about it!
Far be from me to abrogate to myself the judgement of Almighty God! But, I have this nagging feeling that there is a special place in hell, set apart for Katheleen Sebelius - gagging and drowning eternally in the blood and offal, of all the thousands of fetuses she has caused to be aborted!
May the Lord have mercy upon her sinful soul!
In the past two hours, Twitter has exploded with unsubstantiated rumors that the new North Korean dictator died in Beijing today and that a coup is underway in North Korea. All rumor of course, and one that appears to have been started on China's twitter-like platform Weibo. As the story goes, a couple assassins barged into Kim's room in Beijing and shot him, before being shot and killed themselves by bodyguards.I see the alternate version being more likely., but whatever the means, it appears that several sources are reporting his death.Twitter user ChristianJMay says the rumor is "based on news that a host of blacked out cars have descended upon embassy in Beijing, where he was visiting."
User Rocco_Castoro has a different source of information, tweeting "This just in: Kim Jong-un's cause of death was being force-fed hotdogs and having a basketball bounced off his head repeatedly for 20 hours."
Update: 'Rumor' found to be - untrue, Kim Jong-un is not dead.
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