For all of the faithful still attending OLLMP. Please hang tough, GOD does not desert the faithful. We were not to expect everything to be handed to us on a platter. Your Faith will see you through the toughest of times. May our Lord strengthen our faith, at our weakest point. May he bless us all with good health,
Happiness, strength, and faith, to fight the good fight.
GOD bless you all.
Itzik
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
a beautiful virtual tour of st Johns in the Vatican.
http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_giovanni/vr_tour/index-en.html
Don't forget to scroll up to the ceiling, that is a show in itself.
Enjoy it.
Don't forget to scroll up to the ceiling, that is a show in itself.
Enjoy it.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A Christmas lesson
During the celebration of Christmas, the message comes to us that if we are to get to heaven, we can not do so, under our own terms. The Good News is that God, knowing how we often lean towards our own self-interests and trust our own plans rather than His, provides us with a sign whether we like it our not. The question we have to respond to is simply, do I believe that God is a threat or a savior?
St. Joseph, in the Gospel today, is the model for each of us, how to faithfully respond to God’s unprecedented initiatives in the circumstances of our world and lives. When we allow our mind, heart and soul to be open to the mystery of God, our lives do change. St. Joseph was engaged to be married to Mary and has now found she is pregnant. His reaction is not one of anger as a jealous boyfriend. St. John Chrysostom puts it this way. “Joseph was so free from the passion of jealousy as to be unwilling to cause distress to the virgin, even in the slightest way… so he determined to now conduct himself by a higher rule than the law (that would have seen Mary, an unwed mother thrown to the dogs).
Joseph never asked for a sign, but he was given one, a dream in which the same angel spoke to him, that same angel from God who announced to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a Son. He was made aware of the heavenly mystery lest he think otherwise of Mary’s virginity. The angel even calls her, “your wife” and by doing so, even though no human being had any hand in Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph is called to be faithful and make sacred his role as husband. But the angel goes further and gives St. Joseph the responsibility and honor of publically and formally naming this child to be born. Even though he is not the father, he is, by God’s initiative, placed in a special relationship with this child whom the world will come to recognize as the Son of God. (Is this not also the God-given duties of all parents who find themselves now as guardians and protectors of children who may not originally have been their own?) St. Joseph, believing and trusting in the love of God, agreed to what was asked of him, to cooperate in God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
In the events leading to our savior’s birth, St. Joseph was asked to take the Virgin Mary into his home as his wife. In the events of our savior’s death on the cross, our Savior asked us to take the Virgin Mary into our home as our Mother. May the coming days find that there is room in our lives to welcome and embrace the savior of the world and not be afraid to respond with the humility needed to accept necessary change that will point us in the direction of heaven and our salvation.
St. Joseph, in the Gospel today, is the model for each of us, how to faithfully respond to God’s unprecedented initiatives in the circumstances of our world and lives. When we allow our mind, heart and soul to be open to the mystery of God, our lives do change. St. Joseph was engaged to be married to Mary and has now found she is pregnant. His reaction is not one of anger as a jealous boyfriend. St. John Chrysostom puts it this way. “Joseph was so free from the passion of jealousy as to be unwilling to cause distress to the virgin, even in the slightest way… so he determined to now conduct himself by a higher rule than the law (that would have seen Mary, an unwed mother thrown to the dogs).
Joseph never asked for a sign, but he was given one, a dream in which the same angel spoke to him, that same angel from God who announced to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a Son. He was made aware of the heavenly mystery lest he think otherwise of Mary’s virginity. The angel even calls her, “your wife” and by doing so, even though no human being had any hand in Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph is called to be faithful and make sacred his role as husband. But the angel goes further and gives St. Joseph the responsibility and honor of publically and formally naming this child to be born. Even though he is not the father, he is, by God’s initiative, placed in a special relationship with this child whom the world will come to recognize as the Son of God. (Is this not also the God-given duties of all parents who find themselves now as guardians and protectors of children who may not originally have been their own?) St. Joseph, believing and trusting in the love of God, agreed to what was asked of him, to cooperate in God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
In the events leading to our savior’s birth, St. Joseph was asked to take the Virgin Mary into his home as his wife. In the events of our savior’s death on the cross, our Savior asked us to take the Virgin Mary into our home as our Mother. May the coming days find that there is room in our lives to welcome and embrace the savior of the world and not be afraid to respond with the humility needed to accept necessary change that will point us in the direction of heaven and our salvation.
Merry Christmas
I would urge all of the conservatives that long for the Latin Mass to click on this website, which you can bookmark, and then down load and play back the Latin Mass and read and listen to it until we can attend the Latin Mass. It is well done and the
enunciation is beautiful and clear, and by having it on your computer, you can enjoy the Latin mass with you children one section at a time. They will see the difference for themselves of the reverence and respect given to almighty GOD, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. There is no better gift to part to your children, at this wonderful
time of the year when we celebrate the Birthday of our Blessed Lord Jesus.
Dominus Vobiscum
http://www.oceanside4christ.com/Pastoral%20Leadership.htm
enunciation is beautiful and clear, and by having it on your computer, you can enjoy the Latin mass with you children one section at a time. They will see the difference for themselves of the reverence and respect given to almighty GOD, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. There is no better gift to part to your children, at this wonderful
time of the year when we celebrate the Birthday of our Blessed Lord Jesus.
Dominus Vobiscum
http://www.oceanside4christ.com/Pastoral%20Leadership.htm
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Merry Christmas
Illi quisnam diligo Latin Strues , Volo vos totus a Hilaris Sarcalogos repleo per God's diligo.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Merry Christmas
I wish you the Blessings of Jesus, and His
Father, and the Holy Spirit, our one Triune God, for a very Merry Christmas.
Nam Iesum ut vos amore beatitudinis, pacis et gaudium in adventu novus annus
Father, and the Holy Spirit, our one Triune God, for a very Merry Christmas.
Nam Iesum ut vos amore beatitudinis, pacis et gaudium in adventu novus annus
Monday, December 20, 2010
Build a what...where?
So from what I have read, it seems that OLLMP received back around $20,000.00 from RVCD, which was the % given back to parishes for giving in to the Bishops Appeal. And big pockets Msgr had intentions of erecting a monument of Our Lady of Lourdes on the side facing Carmens Road.
He still doesn't get it. If he were to give that money to the children he shut out of the School when he had closed it, it would do a lot more good than erecting a grotto on the side of the church facing Carmens Road. How about not making any collections for 3 or 4 months? How about giving some of that money to needy people in the area? How about donating it to fighting against abortions? Does he think that the people in the neighborhood do not know that the Church is there? TBSS For someone who doesn't like the Liberals in Washington, he acts just like them,
always looking for ways to spend the people's money.
He still doesn't get it. If he were to give that money to the children he shut out of the School when he had closed it, it would do a lot more good than erecting a grotto on the side of the church facing Carmens Road. How about not making any collections for 3 or 4 months? How about giving some of that money to needy people in the area? How about donating it to fighting against abortions? Does he think that the people in the neighborhood do not know that the Church is there? TBSS For someone who doesn't like the Liberals in Washington, he acts just like them,
always looking for ways to spend the people's money.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
What happened Harry? Lost your touch?
Don't ask, don't tell' procedural vote fails
By Ed O'Keefe and Paul Kane
Updated 5:41 p.m. ET
A Senate procedural vote to move forward with debate on a bill ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law failed Thursday to earn the 60 votes necessary to proceed, delivering a significant blow to efforts to allow gays to serve openly.
Despite the setback, senators fighting to end the ban said they would introduce a separate bill to repeal it.
The bill will be cosponsored by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who often work together on homeland security and defense issues. They said the bill will have bipartisan support.
President Obama expressed disappointment and urged senators to reconsider the National Defense Authorization Act before the end of the lame-duck session.
"Despite having the bipartisan support of a clear majority of senators, a minority of senators are standing in the way of the funding upon which our troops, veterans and military families depend," Obama said in a statement. "This annual bill has been enacted each of the past 48 years, and our armed forces deserve nothing less this year."
Senators voted 57 to 40 to advance the NDAA, which contained language ending the ban, as all Republicans except Collins held firm on a vow to block any legislation that does not address tax cuts or government spending. One Democrat, Sen. Joseph Manchin (D-W.Va.) voted against.
"We've tried every possible way to do this," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday before the vote. More than a week of negotiations with Collins and Lieberman.
Throughout the first 15 minutes of the vote, Collins repeatedly broke into huddles with Lieberman and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), reading through legislative language on the floor, at times rolling it up into a ball and angrily waving her arms about how the process was handled. Collins voted with Democrats to proceed on the bill, though by then it was clear her vote would not effect the outcome.
Collins, Reid and Lieberman had negotiated for more than week on an agreement that would allow Republicans to introduce up to 10 amendments to the bill, with Democrats adding up to five.
Collins agreed to the amendment count Wednesday, but held firm to a request for at least four days of debate on the bill and amendments. Reid rebuffed her request, citing the need to proceed with the tax and spending measures before the Senate's planned departure next weekend.
"History will hold these senators accountable and so will many of their constituents," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group pushing for repeal of the law. "There will be no place for these Senators to hide. The Senate and the president must remain in session and in Washington to find another path for repeal to get done in the lame-duck."
"Leaders of both parties let down the U.S. military and the American people," said Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization with close ties to the White House and Congressional Democrats "Instead of doing what is right, 'the world's greatest deliberative body' devolved into shameful schoolyard spats that put petty partisan politics above the needs of our women and men in uniform."
Thursday's vote saps gay-rights activists of their strongest legislative option for ending the ban; they now plan to pressure Obama to act on his own through executive action. Obama could order the Justice Department to stop appealing federal court cases challenging the constitutionality of the law or use his powers as commander-in-chief to issue a stop-loss order halting military discharges and the removal of any gay troops in violation of the ban.
Executive action by Obama is "imperative in order for him to fulfill his State of the Union promise," Solomonese said. "The only measure of success is an end to the discharges and anything less is unacceptable."
"I think the president strongly believes that one of two things is going to happen: Either Congress is going to solve this legislatively, or the courts are going to solve this," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday before the vote. "The policy is going to come to an end."
A Pentagon spokesman said the Defense Department had no immediate comment. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen support ending the ban through legislation this year, as do some of the military service chiefs. But the heads of the Army and Marine Corps last week expressed reservations about ending the ban this year as combat troops continue to face the pressures of ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
By Ed O'Keefe and Paul Kane
Updated 5:41 p.m. ET
A Senate procedural vote to move forward with debate on a bill ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law failed Thursday to earn the 60 votes necessary to proceed, delivering a significant blow to efforts to allow gays to serve openly.
Despite the setback, senators fighting to end the ban said they would introduce a separate bill to repeal it.
The bill will be cosponsored by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who often work together on homeland security and defense issues. They said the bill will have bipartisan support.
President Obama expressed disappointment and urged senators to reconsider the National Defense Authorization Act before the end of the lame-duck session.
"Despite having the bipartisan support of a clear majority of senators, a minority of senators are standing in the way of the funding upon which our troops, veterans and military families depend," Obama said in a statement. "This annual bill has been enacted each of the past 48 years, and our armed forces deserve nothing less this year."
Senators voted 57 to 40 to advance the NDAA, which contained language ending the ban, as all Republicans except Collins held firm on a vow to block any legislation that does not address tax cuts or government spending. One Democrat, Sen. Joseph Manchin (D-W.Va.) voted against.
"We've tried every possible way to do this," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday before the vote. More than a week of negotiations with Collins and Lieberman.
Throughout the first 15 minutes of the vote, Collins repeatedly broke into huddles with Lieberman and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), reading through legislative language on the floor, at times rolling it up into a ball and angrily waving her arms about how the process was handled. Collins voted with Democrats to proceed on the bill, though by then it was clear her vote would not effect the outcome.
Collins, Reid and Lieberman had negotiated for more than week on an agreement that would allow Republicans to introduce up to 10 amendments to the bill, with Democrats adding up to five.
Collins agreed to the amendment count Wednesday, but held firm to a request for at least four days of debate on the bill and amendments. Reid rebuffed her request, citing the need to proceed with the tax and spending measures before the Senate's planned departure next weekend.
"History will hold these senators accountable and so will many of their constituents," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group pushing for repeal of the law. "There will be no place for these Senators to hide. The Senate and the president must remain in session and in Washington to find another path for repeal to get done in the lame-duck."
"Leaders of both parties let down the U.S. military and the American people," said Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization with close ties to the White House and Congressional Democrats "Instead of doing what is right, 'the world's greatest deliberative body' devolved into shameful schoolyard spats that put petty partisan politics above the needs of our women and men in uniform."
Thursday's vote saps gay-rights activists of their strongest legislative option for ending the ban; they now plan to pressure Obama to act on his own through executive action. Obama could order the Justice Department to stop appealing federal court cases challenging the constitutionality of the law or use his powers as commander-in-chief to issue a stop-loss order halting military discharges and the removal of any gay troops in violation of the ban.
Executive action by Obama is "imperative in order for him to fulfill his State of the Union promise," Solomonese said. "The only measure of success is an end to the discharges and anything less is unacceptable."
"I think the president strongly believes that one of two things is going to happen: Either Congress is going to solve this legislatively, or the courts are going to solve this," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday before the vote. "The policy is going to come to an end."
A Pentagon spokesman said the Defense Department had no immediate comment. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen support ending the ban through legislation this year, as do some of the military service chiefs. But the heads of the Army and Marine Corps last week expressed reservations about ending the ban this year as combat troops continue to face the pressures of ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Going back to the basics, LATIN
TraditioIlal Latin Mass
Now growth in NY is slow but steady - about 380 Masses in 154 U.S. Dioceses. The Holy Father has expressed a wish that there be at least one Mass in the Extraordinary Form every Sunday in every parish. In spite of this, there are groups of the faithful who cannot find a priest; there are dynamic young priests who are rebuffed by their pastors when they ask to say the Latin Mass.
However, young people are enthusiastic, priests are hopeful. Training programs are offered for interested priests. We .encourage each priest who offers Mass in the Extraordinary form to
teach one other priest, Latin must be taught in every semmary, as Bl. Pope John XXIII insisted.
Those who love the Latin Mass should persevere, with patience, prayer, penance, and above all,
Pray, pray. A recent survey of Catholics in England reports that while 40% of Catholics were aware of Summorum Poniificum, 60% had never heard of it. A further question: "If Mass were celebrated in Latin and Gregorian chant in its Extraordinary Form in your parish , Would you attend It?" Practicing Catholics (defined as
those who attend Mass at least monthly) gave these responses:
43% would attend every week; 23%, once a month; 17% occasionally; 8% never.
What results would such a poll reveal about Catholics in the United States? How can anyone
be expected to want the Extraordinary Form if they haven't ever been told that it is allowed,
much less encouraged by the Holy Father? Those of us who are so informed should redouble
our efforts to spread the word, to educate and encourage priests and faithful
Other news concerns the new English translation for the Ordinary Form of the Mass.
Many years in the making, it is to be used in every parish in the US effective the First Sunday in
Advent,27 November,2010.Some ask, "Whats wrong with the present translation?" "Why do we need a new one?"
But we all need some short, concise talking points to give our Nouus Ordo
friends. Credo means "I believe", not "we". The new translation is so much closer to the Latin. This new translation does not affect the Traditional Latin Mass, the Extraordinary Form .
The changes reflect the true theology of the Holy Sacrifice. Nothing has changed. Could it be that in the future Catholics, exposed to the truths of their Faith better expressed in the new wordings,
would become more open to the traditions as expressed even more fully in the Latin Mass?
In November, 1988, a group- of 16 Catholics met in Chicago to assess the status of our beloved old Mass in Latin. Pope John Paul II's letter, Ecclesia Dei, has given hope to Catholics who felt the loss of something priceless. More and More Catholics are yearning for the Latin Mass, as a truer form of reverence to the celebration of the mass.
"Ecclesia dei"
Now growth in NY is slow but steady - about 380 Masses in 154 U.S. Dioceses. The Holy Father has expressed a wish that there be at least one Mass in the Extraordinary Form every Sunday in every parish. In spite of this, there are groups of the faithful who cannot find a priest; there are dynamic young priests who are rebuffed by their pastors when they ask to say the Latin Mass.
However, young people are enthusiastic, priests are hopeful. Training programs are offered for interested priests. We .encourage each priest who offers Mass in the Extraordinary form to
teach one other priest, Latin must be taught in every semmary, as Bl. Pope John XXIII insisted.
Those who love the Latin Mass should persevere, with patience, prayer, penance, and above all,
Pray, pray. A recent survey of Catholics in England reports that while 40% of Catholics were aware of Summorum Poniificum, 60% had never heard of it. A further question: "If Mass were celebrated in Latin and Gregorian chant in its Extraordinary Form in your parish , Would you attend It?" Practicing Catholics (defined as
those who attend Mass at least monthly) gave these responses:
43% would attend every week; 23%, once a month; 17% occasionally; 8% never.
What results would such a poll reveal about Catholics in the United States? How can anyone
be expected to want the Extraordinary Form if they haven't ever been told that it is allowed,
much less encouraged by the Holy Father? Those of us who are so informed should redouble
our efforts to spread the word, to educate and encourage priests and faithful
Other news concerns the new English translation for the Ordinary Form of the Mass.
Many years in the making, it is to be used in every parish in the US effective the First Sunday in
Advent,27 November,2010.Some ask, "Whats wrong with the present translation?" "Why do we need a new one?"
But we all need some short, concise talking points to give our Nouus Ordo
friends. Credo means "I believe", not "we". The new translation is so much closer to the Latin. This new translation does not affect the Traditional Latin Mass, the Extraordinary Form .
The changes reflect the true theology of the Holy Sacrifice. Nothing has changed. Could it be that in the future Catholics, exposed to the truths of their Faith better expressed in the new wordings,
would become more open to the traditions as expressed even more fully in the Latin Mass?
In November, 1988, a group- of 16 Catholics met in Chicago to assess the status of our beloved old Mass in Latin. Pope John Paul II's letter, Ecclesia Dei, has given hope to Catholics who felt the loss of something priceless. More and More Catholics are yearning for the Latin Mass, as a truer form of reverence to the celebration of the mass.
"Ecclesia dei"
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A ‘Profile In Courage’ the TSA Is Not.
Islam
by Susan Dale
After the thankfully unsuccessful terrorist activities of the underwear bomber in an airplane over Detroit last Christmas Day, discussion resumed regarding the use of the full body scanner at American international airports. This is a highly sensitive machine that, when used for security purposes, displays the body in its full naked glory.
It was said, after the actions on December 25th by Mr. Mutallab, that this process would have been the only way to have detected the particular technique of terror the young Nigerian was attempting to import into America. Then along comes the perpetually zany Council of American-Islamic Relations. In its infinite wisdom, this group disclosed their intention to sue the United States of America to prevent the aforementioned body scanner from being used on Muslim men and women.
For religious reasons, don’t you know?
In the parallel universe where reside the left and their radical Islamic friends, it makes perfect sense that the only machine that can detect a certain, and most destructive kind of explosive, that has been used exclusively by Islamic terrorists since 2001, is now able to be used with any traveler using American international airports, except, of course, Muslim persons. These Muslim individuals are, as every sane person acknowledges, the ACTUAL REASON we have to put every air traveler through the excruciating security measures that are now in place.
To prevent the further terrorist actions of Muslim terrorists is, in fact, the whole point of the exercise.
The TSA, when confronted by CAIR in this regard, immediately capitulated, thus giving in in the face of yet another Islamic threat. Simultaneously, the TSA agreed to instruct its security staff, in enforcing the same tortuous security measures for everyone but Muslims, to ‘pat down’ Muslim men and women, with the proviso, of course, that only same gender ‘pat downs’ would be permitted for our Muslim brethren.
So, to be sure you understand, this is the deal.
Every American has to go through a humiliating and time consuming hell every time any one of us has to fly anywhere in the country, or the world. This nightmare is due strictly to the actions of Islamic terrorists. Now, due to the Obama-determined decision of certain of our non-elected bureaucrats, we are now excepting Islamists, and only Islamists – THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SWORN TO ANNIHILATE AMERICA – from being forced to submit the examination of this machine that is the only thing that can detect certain terrorist explosives. In other words, the organization created to protect the American traveling public is now, under the Obama Administration, being prevented from doing so due to reasons of politically correct religious (again, addressed only to the world of Islam) sensitivity.
What kind of fantasy world is the Obama Administration living in? Does anyone in his Administration remember what happened on September 11, 2001? Has anyone in this ridiculous excuse for a Presidential Administration heard the repeated assurances from the Muslim world that we will either be converted to Islam by their jihad or die?
‘Explosive-wired Islamofascists’ is not a sensitivity issue – it is an act of war. It is an act of war against the United States of America and its innocent citizenry, no matter what religion. Tender feelings toward our Muslim brethren should not be taken into account when figuring out how best to protect us. The application of their faith when in our country should be very low on the list of what is significant to our nation, and if they don’t like that, they can immediately return to the nations where it is of significance. In America, they should understand, each religion is equal to the other; no particular religion is above another.
A current popular phrase might be applied in this instance: Islam, this is America. The land of the free. Deal with it.
It would be interesting to know whether the Obama Administration has instructed members of his Administration to make any accommodations for members of the Christian religion alert to members of the Obama Administration: the religion that FOUNDED OUR NATION in air travel? Perhaps, for Judaism, second alert to members of the Obama Administration: another very important religion found in the United States of America?
The answer would seem to be no.
It is wondered, therefore, if the Obama Administration and its member leftists ever intend to acknowledge the truth about the world of Islam, the founder of terrorism throughout the world.
Barack Hussein Obama can go on and on about how wonderful is the world of Islam. How magnificent and tolerant is their religion; how beautiful is their handwriting, (a subject not thought to be significant in 21st Century America by Obama Administration educators); how extraordinary is their Algebra, yet another subject of American education considered unimportant by current Obama educators, (African-American Studies; Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Studies; etc., being of much greater significance in the Obamaworld of educating our children) and how peaceful, and desirous of peace, are their people. And from where, almost verbatim from various Obama speeches, do these lovely words come?
Fantasyland.
Like it or not, the Muslim world of the 21st century has nothing to do with the Magical Mystery Tour that Barack Hussein Obama and his followers have chosen to present as the current Muslim world. Obama and his acolytes can create beautiful and false words around the ‘religion of peace,’ and assume people will believe these lies. Hollywood and whoever can create physical fantasies about how gorgeous and sensitive Muslims were and are; or how brilliant, intellectually, scientifically and politically, Muslims were and are, or what victims they are and have been through the centuries, because, of course, of the actions of the Great Satan, (us) with Obama always on the ready to apologize for whatever of our transgressions of which the aggrieved (Muslims) complain. It is, as you know, always our fault. .
The truth about the world of Islam is the opposite.
The fact is that the Muslim extremist world of the 21st century is a nasty, grubby, illiterate but tech-savvy, hate-filled world of duplicitous and violent men whose minds live in a 12th century mélange of hatred of the Infidel (which is just about all of the rest of the world); misogyny - alert to the American left: this is not just chauvinistic men wanting to keep women home and perennially barefoot and pregnant; this is a world where a teenage girl had her nose and ears lopped off because her mother wouldn’t let her marry their cousin, (which actually happened recently in Pakistan, and when the little girl’s mother saw her baby’s face after this mutilation, she fell dead from a heart attack) (religion of peace); this, Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, is the Islam you champion. One will also find homophobia to a degree that these and other ardent feminists, like Barney Frank, could not imagine – no hate crime legislation here – beheading is the answer to that particular problem in Muslim countries. Then there are young men who have had every advantage that the West gives its youth, who would prefer to have their future contain wiring Downs’ Syndrome children with explosives so they can kill that many more innocent Westerners, in whatever country, it doesn’t really matter to them as long as it results in the most casualties.
And why do they do this? Not for anything we have done, despite constant such lamentations by the left, but for what we are. As an Islamic terrorist was quoted in responding to a leftist plea for us to just get along: “We don’t want to reason with you; we want to kill you.” A logical conclusion is to listen to them when they describe what they want to do to us for existing, don’t you think?
This is the Muslim world Barack Hussein Obama embraces.
Isn’t it time that the President of the United States of America stops protecting and defending the murderous medieval world of Islamic terrorism and starts protecting and defending the American people? Sadly, for us, this is not the case for our current Supreme Leader.
by Susan Dale
After the thankfully unsuccessful terrorist activities of the underwear bomber in an airplane over Detroit last Christmas Day, discussion resumed regarding the use of the full body scanner at American international airports. This is a highly sensitive machine that, when used for security purposes, displays the body in its full naked glory.
It was said, after the actions on December 25th by Mr. Mutallab, that this process would have been the only way to have detected the particular technique of terror the young Nigerian was attempting to import into America. Then along comes the perpetually zany Council of American-Islamic Relations. In its infinite wisdom, this group disclosed their intention to sue the United States of America to prevent the aforementioned body scanner from being used on Muslim men and women.
For religious reasons, don’t you know?
In the parallel universe where reside the left and their radical Islamic friends, it makes perfect sense that the only machine that can detect a certain, and most destructive kind of explosive, that has been used exclusively by Islamic terrorists since 2001, is now able to be used with any traveler using American international airports, except, of course, Muslim persons. These Muslim individuals are, as every sane person acknowledges, the ACTUAL REASON we have to put every air traveler through the excruciating security measures that are now in place.
To prevent the further terrorist actions of Muslim terrorists is, in fact, the whole point of the exercise.
The TSA, when confronted by CAIR in this regard, immediately capitulated, thus giving in in the face of yet another Islamic threat. Simultaneously, the TSA agreed to instruct its security staff, in enforcing the same tortuous security measures for everyone but Muslims, to ‘pat down’ Muslim men and women, with the proviso, of course, that only same gender ‘pat downs’ would be permitted for our Muslim brethren.
So, to be sure you understand, this is the deal.
Every American has to go through a humiliating and time consuming hell every time any one of us has to fly anywhere in the country, or the world. This nightmare is due strictly to the actions of Islamic terrorists. Now, due to the Obama-determined decision of certain of our non-elected bureaucrats, we are now excepting Islamists, and only Islamists – THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SWORN TO ANNIHILATE AMERICA – from being forced to submit the examination of this machine that is the only thing that can detect certain terrorist explosives. In other words, the organization created to protect the American traveling public is now, under the Obama Administration, being prevented from doing so due to reasons of politically correct religious (again, addressed only to the world of Islam) sensitivity.
What kind of fantasy world is the Obama Administration living in? Does anyone in his Administration remember what happened on September 11, 2001? Has anyone in this ridiculous excuse for a Presidential Administration heard the repeated assurances from the Muslim world that we will either be converted to Islam by their jihad or die?
‘Explosive-wired Islamofascists’ is not a sensitivity issue – it is an act of war. It is an act of war against the United States of America and its innocent citizenry, no matter what religion. Tender feelings toward our Muslim brethren should not be taken into account when figuring out how best to protect us. The application of their faith when in our country should be very low on the list of what is significant to our nation, and if they don’t like that, they can immediately return to the nations where it is of significance. In America, they should understand, each religion is equal to the other; no particular religion is above another.
A current popular phrase might be applied in this instance: Islam, this is America. The land of the free. Deal with it.
It would be interesting to know whether the Obama Administration has instructed members of his Administration to make any accommodations for members of the Christian religion alert to members of the Obama Administration: the religion that FOUNDED OUR NATION in air travel? Perhaps, for Judaism, second alert to members of the Obama Administration: another very important religion found in the United States of America?
The answer would seem to be no.
It is wondered, therefore, if the Obama Administration and its member leftists ever intend to acknowledge the truth about the world of Islam, the founder of terrorism throughout the world.
Barack Hussein Obama can go on and on about how wonderful is the world of Islam. How magnificent and tolerant is their religion; how beautiful is their handwriting, (a subject not thought to be significant in 21st Century America by Obama Administration educators); how extraordinary is their Algebra, yet another subject of American education considered unimportant by current Obama educators, (African-American Studies; Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Studies; etc., being of much greater significance in the Obamaworld of educating our children) and how peaceful, and desirous of peace, are their people. And from where, almost verbatim from various Obama speeches, do these lovely words come?
Fantasyland.
Like it or not, the Muslim world of the 21st century has nothing to do with the Magical Mystery Tour that Barack Hussein Obama and his followers have chosen to present as the current Muslim world. Obama and his acolytes can create beautiful and false words around the ‘religion of peace,’ and assume people will believe these lies. Hollywood and whoever can create physical fantasies about how gorgeous and sensitive Muslims were and are; or how brilliant, intellectually, scientifically and politically, Muslims were and are, or what victims they are and have been through the centuries, because, of course, of the actions of the Great Satan, (us) with Obama always on the ready to apologize for whatever of our transgressions of which the aggrieved (Muslims) complain. It is, as you know, always our fault. .
The truth about the world of Islam is the opposite.
The fact is that the Muslim extremist world of the 21st century is a nasty, grubby, illiterate but tech-savvy, hate-filled world of duplicitous and violent men whose minds live in a 12th century mélange of hatred of the Infidel (which is just about all of the rest of the world); misogyny - alert to the American left: this is not just chauvinistic men wanting to keep women home and perennially barefoot and pregnant; this is a world where a teenage girl had her nose and ears lopped off because her mother wouldn’t let her marry their cousin, (which actually happened recently in Pakistan, and when the little girl’s mother saw her baby’s face after this mutilation, she fell dead from a heart attack) (religion of peace); this, Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, is the Islam you champion. One will also find homophobia to a degree that these and other ardent feminists, like Barney Frank, could not imagine – no hate crime legislation here – beheading is the answer to that particular problem in Muslim countries. Then there are young men who have had every advantage that the West gives its youth, who would prefer to have their future contain wiring Downs’ Syndrome children with explosives so they can kill that many more innocent Westerners, in whatever country, it doesn’t really matter to them as long as it results in the most casualties.
And why do they do this? Not for anything we have done, despite constant such lamentations by the left, but for what we are. As an Islamic terrorist was quoted in responding to a leftist plea for us to just get along: “We don’t want to reason with you; we want to kill you.” A logical conclusion is to listen to them when they describe what they want to do to us for existing, don’t you think?
This is the Muslim world Barack Hussein Obama embraces.
Isn’t it time that the President of the United States of America stops protecting and defending the murderous medieval world of Islamic terrorism and starts protecting and defending the American people? Sadly, for us, this is not the case for our current Supreme Leader.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
ECCLESIA DEI
Traditional Latin Mass
Now growth in NY is slow but steady - about 380 Masses in 154 U.S. Dioceses. The Holy Father has expressed a wish that there be at least one Mass in the Extraordinary Form every Sunday in every parish. In spite of this, there are groups of the faithful who cannot find a priest; there are dynamic young priests who are rebuffed by their pastors when they ask to say the Latin Mass.
However, young people are enthusiastic, priests are hopeful. Training programs are offered for interested priests. We .encourage each priest who offers Mass in the Extraordinary form to
teach one other priest, Latin must be taught in every semmary, as Bl. Pope John XXIII insisted.
Those who love the Latin Mass should persevere, with patience, prayer, penance, and above all,
Pray, pray. A recent survey of Catholics in England reports that while 40% of Catholics were aware of Summorum Poniificum, 60% had never heard of it. A further question: "If Mass were celebrated in Latin and Gregorian chant in its Extraordinary Form in your parish , Would you attend It?" Practicing Catholics (defined as
those who attend Mass at least monthly) gave these responses:
43% would attend every week; 23%, once a month; 17% occasionally; 8% never.
What results would such a poll reveal about Catholics in the United States? How can anyone
be expected to want the Extraordinary Form if they haven't ever been told that it is allowed,
much less encouraged by the Holy Father? Those of us who are so informed should redouble
our efforts to spread the word, to educate and encourage priests and faithful
Other news concerns the new English translation for the Ordinary Form of the Mass.
Many years in the making, it is to be used in every parish in the US effective the First Sunday in
Advent,27 November,2010.Some ask, "Whats wrong with the present translation?" "Why do we need a new one?"
But we all need some short, concise talking points to give our Nouus Ordo
friends. Credo means "I believe", not "we". The new translation is so much closer to the Latin. This new translation does not affect the Traditional Latin Mass, the Extraordinary Form .
The changes reflect the true theology of the Holy Sacrifice. Nothing has changed. Could it be that in the future Catholics, exposed to the truths of their Faith better expressed in the new wordings,
would become more open to the traditions as expressed even more fully in the Latin Mass?
In November, 1988, a group- of 16 Catholics met in Chicago to assess the status of our beloved old Mass in Latin. Pope John Paul II's letter, Ecclesia Dei, has given hope to Catholics who felt the loss of something priceless. More and More Catholics are yearning for the Latin Mass, as a truer form of reverence to the celebration of the mass.
"Ecclesia dei"
Now growth in NY is slow but steady - about 380 Masses in 154 U.S. Dioceses. The Holy Father has expressed a wish that there be at least one Mass in the Extraordinary Form every Sunday in every parish. In spite of this, there are groups of the faithful who cannot find a priest; there are dynamic young priests who are rebuffed by their pastors when they ask to say the Latin Mass.
However, young people are enthusiastic, priests are hopeful. Training programs are offered for interested priests. We .encourage each priest who offers Mass in the Extraordinary form to
teach one other priest, Latin must be taught in every semmary, as Bl. Pope John XXIII insisted.
Those who love the Latin Mass should persevere, with patience, prayer, penance, and above all,
Pray, pray. A recent survey of Catholics in England reports that while 40% of Catholics were aware of Summorum Poniificum, 60% had never heard of it. A further question: "If Mass were celebrated in Latin and Gregorian chant in its Extraordinary Form in your parish , Would you attend It?" Practicing Catholics (defined as
those who attend Mass at least monthly) gave these responses:
43% would attend every week; 23%, once a month; 17% occasionally; 8% never.
What results would such a poll reveal about Catholics in the United States? How can anyone
be expected to want the Extraordinary Form if they haven't ever been told that it is allowed,
much less encouraged by the Holy Father? Those of us who are so informed should redouble
our efforts to spread the word, to educate and encourage priests and faithful
Other news concerns the new English translation for the Ordinary Form of the Mass.
Many years in the making, it is to be used in every parish in the US effective the First Sunday in
Advent,27 November,2010.Some ask, "Whats wrong with the present translation?" "Why do we need a new one?"
But we all need some short, concise talking points to give our Nouus Ordo
friends. Credo means "I believe", not "we". The new translation is so much closer to the Latin. This new translation does not affect the Traditional Latin Mass, the Extraordinary Form .
The changes reflect the true theology of the Holy Sacrifice. Nothing has changed. Could it be that in the future Catholics, exposed to the truths of their Faith better expressed in the new wordings,
would become more open to the traditions as expressed even more fully in the Latin Mass?
In November, 1988, a group- of 16 Catholics met in Chicago to assess the status of our beloved old Mass in Latin. Pope John Paul II's letter, Ecclesia Dei, has given hope to Catholics who felt the loss of something priceless. More and More Catholics are yearning for the Latin Mass, as a truer form of reverence to the celebration of the mass.
"Ecclesia dei"
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
There is no such thing as a "New Mass".
Lucy E. Carroll has an excellent article in the latest issue of Adoremus Bulletin, a newspaper dedicated to the “reform of the reform”(I wish them luck), titled “What the Novus Ordo is – and Isn’t.” I have posted excerpts from the article below (forgive the length). Emphasis and commentary are mine.
“There is no such thing as the ‘new’ Mass. No, the Mass is not a new Mass. If so, it would be called the ‘Missa nova.’(Are you telling me that no priests or bishops, many of whom were ordained back when Latin was still a mandatory subject in the seminary, caught that in the past 40 years? Hardly. Or did they purposely misinterpreted it for the laity because they had their own agenda?) No, it is the same Mass, trimmed down and slightly re-ordered, hence the new ordering (or Novus Ordo).
“Some practices vary between the two forms. In the extraordinary form, the priest and people always face the tabernacle while in the (plain ol’) ordinary form, the priest almost always faces the people, though the Council never mandated this change in posture, and it not required.
“After the Council, Communion rails were often removed, or were not installed in new churches, though this was an innovation. The rails were not just to keep folks out of the sanctuary. The Communion rail can be seen as kind of an ‘extension’ of the altar, and, like the altar, the railing was often made of marble.
“Contrary to some mistaken ideas, bells and incense have never been forbidden. Indeed, the Novus Ordo allows for a more generous use of incense.
“But even with the variations (or in some cases nonsense and novelties), the ordinary form of the Mass is still the Sacrifice of Calvary prefigured at the Last Supper and completed in the Resurrection.(It is sad that so many people who attend Mass and call themselves Catholic do not know that, much less understand it.) It is not something new."
“There is no such thing as the ‘new’ Mass. No, the Mass is not a new Mass. If so, it would be called the ‘Missa nova.’(Are you telling me that no priests or bishops, many of whom were ordained back when Latin was still a mandatory subject in the seminary, caught that in the past 40 years? Hardly. Or did they purposely misinterpreted it for the laity because they had their own agenda?) No, it is the same Mass, trimmed down and slightly re-ordered, hence the new ordering (or Novus Ordo).
“Some practices vary between the two forms. In the extraordinary form, the priest and people always face the tabernacle while in the (plain ol’) ordinary form, the priest almost always faces the people, though the Council never mandated this change in posture, and it not required.
“After the Council, Communion rails were often removed, or were not installed in new churches, though this was an innovation. The rails were not just to keep folks out of the sanctuary. The Communion rail can be seen as kind of an ‘extension’ of the altar, and, like the altar, the railing was often made of marble.
“Contrary to some mistaken ideas, bells and incense have never been forbidden. Indeed, the Novus Ordo allows for a more generous use of incense.
“But even with the variations (or in some cases nonsense and novelties), the ordinary form of the Mass is still the Sacrifice of Calvary prefigured at the Last Supper and completed in the Resurrection.(It is sad that so many people who attend Mass and call themselves Catholic do not know that, much less understand it.) It is not something new."
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Why not stop all immigration into the US?
(What a surprise, I wonder what would happen if we did this with immigration to the U.S until our unemployment went down to 3%?. Bet they don't have any illegals there!)
Merkel says German multi-cultural society "has failed"
AFP – German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pictured in Potsdam on Saturday at a conference of younger members her …
– 1 hr 53 mins ago
BERLIN (AFP)– Germany's attempts to create a multi-cultural society in which people from various cultural backgrounds live together peacefully have failed, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.
"Multikulti", the concept that "we are now living side by side and are happy about it," does not work, Merkel told a meeting of younger members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at Potsdam near Berlin.
"This approach has failed, totally," she said in Saturday's speech.
Merkel spoke a week after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which they pledged to do more to improve the often poor integration record of Germany's 2.5-million-strong Turkish community.
Horst Seehofer, the leader of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, CSU, told the same party meeting Friday that the two Union parties were "committed to a dominant German culture and opposed to a multicultural one.
"'Multikulti' is dead," he said.
While warning against "immigration that weighs down on our social system", Merkel said that Germany needed specialists from overseas to keep the pace of its economic development.
According to the head of the German chamber of commerce and industry, Hans Heinrich Driftmann, Germany is in urgent need of about 400,000 engineers and qualified workers.
"The lack is causing a loss of growth of about one percent," he said in an interview.
Jewish leaders in Germany meanwhile warned that German society and democracy were under threat from extremists.
A recent expert study should prompt the government to act against antidemocratic ideas, the secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Stephan Kramer, told the Rheinpfalz am Sonntag weekly.
The study, by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation think tank, showed that more than one third (34.3 percent) of those surveyed believed Germany's 16 million immigrants or people with foreign origins came to the country for the social benefits.
Around the same number (35.6 percent) think Germany is being "over-run by foreigners" and more than one in 10 called for a "Fuehrer" to run the country "with a strong hand".
Thirty-two percent of people said they agreed with the statement: "Foreigners should be sent home when jobs are scarce."
Far-right attitudes are found not only at the extremes of German society, but "to a worrying degree at the centre of society," the report noted.
More than half (58.4 percent) of the 2,411 people polled thought the around four million Muslims in Germany should have their religious practices "significantly curbed."
The integration of Muslims has been a hot button issue since August when a member of Germany's central bank sparked outrage by saying the country was being made "more stupid" by poorly educated and unproductive Muslim migrants with headscarves.
The banker, Thilo Sarrazin, has since resigned but his book on the subject -- "Germany Does Itself In" -- has flown off the shelves, and polls showed considerable sympathy for some of his views.
Kramer also criticised CSU leader Seehofer for ideas which he said were "not only petty but outright irresponsible" and slammed the current immigration debate as "hysterical".
Merkel says German multi-cultural society "has failed"
AFP – German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pictured in Potsdam on Saturday at a conference of younger members her …
– 1 hr 53 mins ago
BERLIN (AFP)– Germany's attempts to create a multi-cultural society in which people from various cultural backgrounds live together peacefully have failed, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.
"Multikulti", the concept that "we are now living side by side and are happy about it," does not work, Merkel told a meeting of younger members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at Potsdam near Berlin.
"This approach has failed, totally," she said in Saturday's speech.
Merkel spoke a week after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which they pledged to do more to improve the often poor integration record of Germany's 2.5-million-strong Turkish community.
Horst Seehofer, the leader of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, CSU, told the same party meeting Friday that the two Union parties were "committed to a dominant German culture and opposed to a multicultural one.
"'Multikulti' is dead," he said.
While warning against "immigration that weighs down on our social system", Merkel said that Germany needed specialists from overseas to keep the pace of its economic development.
According to the head of the German chamber of commerce and industry, Hans Heinrich Driftmann, Germany is in urgent need of about 400,000 engineers and qualified workers.
"The lack is causing a loss of growth of about one percent," he said in an interview.
Jewish leaders in Germany meanwhile warned that German society and democracy were under threat from extremists.
A recent expert study should prompt the government to act against antidemocratic ideas, the secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Stephan Kramer, told the Rheinpfalz am Sonntag weekly.
The study, by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation think tank, showed that more than one third (34.3 percent) of those surveyed believed Germany's 16 million immigrants or people with foreign origins came to the country for the social benefits.
Around the same number (35.6 percent) think Germany is being "over-run by foreigners" and more than one in 10 called for a "Fuehrer" to run the country "with a strong hand".
Thirty-two percent of people said they agreed with the statement: "Foreigners should be sent home when jobs are scarce."
Far-right attitudes are found not only at the extremes of German society, but "to a worrying degree at the centre of society," the report noted.
More than half (58.4 percent) of the 2,411 people polled thought the around four million Muslims in Germany should have their religious practices "significantly curbed."
The integration of Muslims has been a hot button issue since August when a member of Germany's central bank sparked outrage by saying the country was being made "more stupid" by poorly educated and unproductive Muslim migrants with headscarves.
The banker, Thilo Sarrazin, has since resigned but his book on the subject -- "Germany Does Itself In" -- has flown off the shelves, and polls showed considerable sympathy for some of his views.
Kramer also criticised CSU leader Seehofer for ideas which he said were "not only petty but outright irresponsible" and slammed the current immigration debate as "hysterical".
We will prevail, and the Obama-Care will not happen!
All of you voters, that do not want the Government to tell you what to do, and when to die, with the Obama-Care committee making the decisions on your life, please vote
on November, and kick out all of the progressive, socialistic, dictator, congress we have been subject to for the past 4 years.
We are not alone, the rest of America is in agreement with us, and this country was predicated on Congress doing the will of the American people, not to dictate to the American people. November is the time to "Take back America"
Your voice heard: Judge rules against ObamaCare!
Not long ago, we urged you to contact your state governor and attorney general to urge them to challenge the constitutionality of ObamaCare in court.
Your voice was heard! Over 20 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit charging that ObamaCare is flatly unconstitutional.
The great news is that they were told by a federal judge late last week the lawsuit you helped inspire can go forward.
Judge Roger Vinson said that the states "have most definitely stated a plausible claim" that the federal government has absolutely no authority under the Constitution to require people to purchase health insurance.
He also indicated that the sovereign right of states under the 10th Amendment have likely been violated by the federal government's order under ObamaCare to increase their Medicare budgets, which will, in the words of the lawsuit, "run [state] budgets off a cliff."
Even better, the judge said that President Obama's attorneys were making "Alice in Wonderland" arguments as they tried to defend the indefensible.
This lawsuit is likely on its way to the Supreme Court, and you will have helped to get it there. Thanks for weighing in on a critical issue at a critical time!
Don't forget that we have an election of historic importance coming up in just two weeks. AFA Action has prepared a scorecard that includes the vote of your representative and your two senators on ObamaCare. You can view the scorecard for your state here.
Please forward this Scorecard to your family members and friends. You can readily print or share the Scorecard on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google, Messenger, etc.
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon
on November, and kick out all of the progressive, socialistic, dictator, congress we have been subject to for the past 4 years.
We are not alone, the rest of America is in agreement with us, and this country was predicated on Congress doing the will of the American people, not to dictate to the American people. November is the time to "Take back America"
Your voice heard: Judge rules against ObamaCare!
Not long ago, we urged you to contact your state governor and attorney general to urge them to challenge the constitutionality of ObamaCare in court.
Your voice was heard! Over 20 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit charging that ObamaCare is flatly unconstitutional.
The great news is that they were told by a federal judge late last week the lawsuit you helped inspire can go forward.
Judge Roger Vinson said that the states "have most definitely stated a plausible claim" that the federal government has absolutely no authority under the Constitution to require people to purchase health insurance.
He also indicated that the sovereign right of states under the 10th Amendment have likely been violated by the federal government's order under ObamaCare to increase their Medicare budgets, which will, in the words of the lawsuit, "run [state] budgets off a cliff."
Even better, the judge said that President Obama's attorneys were making "Alice in Wonderland" arguments as they tried to defend the indefensible.
This lawsuit is likely on its way to the Supreme Court, and you will have helped to get it there. Thanks for weighing in on a critical issue at a critical time!
Don't forget that we have an election of historic importance coming up in just two weeks. AFA Action has prepared a scorecard that includes the vote of your representative and your two senators on ObamaCare. You can view the scorecard for your state here.
Please forward this Scorecard to your family members and friends. You can readily print or share the Scorecard on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google, Messenger, etc.
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Not many days left until we take back America!
My friends,
In an email today I was discussing how the UN seeks to impose "International law" on Americans through treaties, and this administration is partnered the plot to disarm America, but it goes much deeper than that, so here is my gazette covering it...
The obvious answer is that we must take our country back via the election process. Buy controlling who the parties put up as candidates, we have some measure of control over how we will be governed..... That is how the founders intended our system of government to operate.... For the People, By the People.
From the beginning, it has been clear that the UN is made up of a group of countries that hate and envy America for our freedom, strength, innovation, policies, convictions and processes. Their sanctions and rulings have always been to the detriment of the USA, even when they agree, it's only to set us up for condemnation on a world stage. They are the offspring of the league of nations , a progressive dream of one world governance and a global economy. This was the dream child of President Wilson, who was as radical and Marxist / progressive as Obama but with a 20th century twist. What has taken place in the past 20 months under this administration is the fruit of this and the past 2 administrations. The progressive movement has co-opted members of both parties, and while we were watching what we thought were two diametrically opposite parties, they were actually setting up the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the world.
With the first stimulus package put through by a democrat congress and signed by a mild socialist president (Bush),and the second by a radical progressive (Obama)... they have begun "Spreading the wealth" to quote Barack......... Except it's not being spread here, as evidenced by the growing numbers of unemployed Americans. What they are doing is selling our future to China by borrowing BILLIONS, , which has devalued the dollar so that we are loosing our standing in the world as the standard all monies are judged by.....The dollar is worth about 40 cents less today, THAN WHEN BUSH LEFT OFFICE!
This is by design, as it will facilitate America being brought in line with the same standard of living as the rest of the world , which at one point was way below us, but has gained from our loss. This is not something that Obama and the Dem's have just concocted... it is a century in the making, and we are watching the fruit of a perfect storm of progressive control in all three branches of our government.
The housing, Bank and financial crisis were obviously manufactured and the result of Government forcing policies on the free market and throwing it into chaos. Several people, most notably Glenn Beck, have pointed to Cloward and Piven as the model which the progressives have followed to effect this collapse of Capitalism. One of the key tenants is to create a drag on the economy so great as to destroy it, then allow the Government to grab power from the private sector and gain almost complete control of goods and services.
There is a reason that they don't want to drill for oil here, and it has nothing to do with environmental impact. It's also one of the reasons they hate Sarah Palin so much with all of her "Drill baby drill" and "Drill here, Drill now !"..... This is part of a plan by the progressive left to transfer our wealth to countries which have nothing, except oil. Look at who we are buying oil from, Venezuela, where the people are living on about $1500 to $2500 a year, and yet we are pouring money into their economy by purchasing their oil... even though their president has spit in our face, called for our destruction, called us stupid and called upon the world to condemn us.....
Obama gave him the floor of OUR congress to "Address" the people of America and then he stood there as this dictator, Hugo Chavez insulted America. Chavez then presented Obama with a book about the destruction of American ideals and why America is an evil empire based on Capitalism.... When in history would you have ever dreamed that to be possible? Obama has bowed to Saudi King Abdullah, WHY???? Because he is working for them, he is transferring our wealth to their nation. Saudi Arabia is a nation that without American oil, would go under faster than the Titanic. He did this knowing, as Bush also did, that Saudi money finances terrorists, and was behind the training and operations of the 9/11 suicide pilots and Bin Laden.
Another piece of the equation is the flood of illegal immigrants that have permeated our nation and both parties have been complicit in allowing them in. Bush, Clinton, Bush and now Obama... Their numbers are at the root of why our healthcare, schools and hospitals are being overloaded, and costs have skyrocketed. It's simple enough to see that if you have people who are using your healthcare system and do not pay, the insurance companies will have to pick up the tab and the people who have healthcare will pay more in premiums to cover the insurance company's losses.
The same can be said for the education system, with an average cost of $18,000 per child of an illegal who attends public school....... who ever said they were guaranteed an education, if they are not citizens and do not pay taxes?
This is because the left knows that if they can gain citizenship for the 14 to 20 million illegals, they will have a guaranteed voting block that will win control by the left for decades. These are people who look for government handouts... it is cultural, and the progressives know it. Harry Reid just failed at an attempt to piggyback an amnesty bill on a GI bill. This "Dream" act would give preference and aid (Money) to the children of illegals who go to college in the US..... Not American children, but the children of federal criminals, who themselves are only here because their parents committed a crime. For this, the progressives seek to reward them, and they know it......Look at Obama's Aunt getting asylum and citizenship after being ordered to leave the country 2 years ago and ignoring the court order, blaming the system for forcing housing, food and healthcare on her, which is why she stayed in the first place, Ungrateful !..... My first question is why didn't they escort her to the airport and put her on a plane the first time, and the second is that it's obvious that Obama pressured the judge to grant her amnesty
Cap and Trade, Environmental activism (Al Gore and his fake global warming scam), Health care, Housing, Financial and manufacturing crisis..... all concocted to gain control over Americans, grow government, and lower our standard so that "Everyone can get a chance" to quote the immaculate one. Well I have worked for everything I have, and worked hard, just as I am sure you too have toiled to give your families the best you can..... Now is the time that we need to make this government work for us and our well being, the same as we work for our families, the way it was intended to be when the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence.
WE are the MAJORITY, and we need to exercise our right to control how we are governed, this crosses party lines because all that matters is that the person we choose embodies OUR principals...... There is nothing to be guilty of when you ask your government to follow the law, to abide by the Constitution, and to protect us before any other people........ That is their first responsibility under the law and the Constitution. Enough pandering to the small groups of loudmouth people who believe they are owed something for nothing.... they are just like us, they need to be made to understand that WE THE PEOPLE, will not finance their life long vacation in America, that they too must work for what they want, that we do not owe them anything, and that neither race, religion, ethnicity or gender entitle you to special treatment. The government also needs to understand that we will not fund the world before we take care of our own country first. It's a simple enough concept, we have done it before, we can do it again.
(copied from "The Voice of Reason!")
VOTE, VOTE , VOTE God Bless America !
In an email today I was discussing how the UN seeks to impose "International law" on Americans through treaties, and this administration is partnered the plot to disarm America, but it goes much deeper than that, so here is my gazette covering it...
The obvious answer is that we must take our country back via the election process. Buy controlling who the parties put up as candidates, we have some measure of control over how we will be governed..... That is how the founders intended our system of government to operate.... For the People, By the People.
From the beginning, it has been clear that the UN is made up of a group of countries that hate and envy America for our freedom, strength, innovation, policies, convictions and processes. Their sanctions and rulings have always been to the detriment of the USA, even when they agree, it's only to set us up for condemnation on a world stage. They are the offspring of the league of nations , a progressive dream of one world governance and a global economy. This was the dream child of President Wilson, who was as radical and Marxist / progressive as Obama but with a 20th century twist. What has taken place in the past 20 months under this administration is the fruit of this and the past 2 administrations. The progressive movement has co-opted members of both parties, and while we were watching what we thought were two diametrically opposite parties, they were actually setting up the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the world.
With the first stimulus package put through by a democrat congress and signed by a mild socialist president (Bush),and the second by a radical progressive (Obama)... they have begun "Spreading the wealth" to quote Barack......... Except it's not being spread here, as evidenced by the growing numbers of unemployed Americans. What they are doing is selling our future to China by borrowing BILLIONS, , which has devalued the dollar so that we are loosing our standing in the world as the standard all monies are judged by.....The dollar is worth about 40 cents less today, THAN WHEN BUSH LEFT OFFICE!
This is by design, as it will facilitate America being brought in line with the same standard of living as the rest of the world , which at one point was way below us, but has gained from our loss. This is not something that Obama and the Dem's have just concocted... it is a century in the making, and we are watching the fruit of a perfect storm of progressive control in all three branches of our government.
The housing, Bank and financial crisis were obviously manufactured and the result of Government forcing policies on the free market and throwing it into chaos. Several people, most notably Glenn Beck, have pointed to Cloward and Piven as the model which the progressives have followed to effect this collapse of Capitalism. One of the key tenants is to create a drag on the economy so great as to destroy it, then allow the Government to grab power from the private sector and gain almost complete control of goods and services.
There is a reason that they don't want to drill for oil here, and it has nothing to do with environmental impact. It's also one of the reasons they hate Sarah Palin so much with all of her "Drill baby drill" and "Drill here, Drill now !"..... This is part of a plan by the progressive left to transfer our wealth to countries which have nothing, except oil. Look at who we are buying oil from, Venezuela, where the people are living on about $1500 to $2500 a year, and yet we are pouring money into their economy by purchasing their oil... even though their president has spit in our face, called for our destruction, called us stupid and called upon the world to condemn us.....
Obama gave him the floor of OUR congress to "Address" the people of America and then he stood there as this dictator, Hugo Chavez insulted America. Chavez then presented Obama with a book about the destruction of American ideals and why America is an evil empire based on Capitalism.... When in history would you have ever dreamed that to be possible? Obama has bowed to Saudi King Abdullah, WHY???? Because he is working for them, he is transferring our wealth to their nation. Saudi Arabia is a nation that without American oil, would go under faster than the Titanic. He did this knowing, as Bush also did, that Saudi money finances terrorists, and was behind the training and operations of the 9/11 suicide pilots and Bin Laden.
Another piece of the equation is the flood of illegal immigrants that have permeated our nation and both parties have been complicit in allowing them in. Bush, Clinton, Bush and now Obama... Their numbers are at the root of why our healthcare, schools and hospitals are being overloaded, and costs have skyrocketed. It's simple enough to see that if you have people who are using your healthcare system and do not pay, the insurance companies will have to pick up the tab and the people who have healthcare will pay more in premiums to cover the insurance company's losses.
The same can be said for the education system, with an average cost of $18,000 per child of an illegal who attends public school....... who ever said they were guaranteed an education, if they are not citizens and do not pay taxes?
This is because the left knows that if they can gain citizenship for the 14 to 20 million illegals, they will have a guaranteed voting block that will win control by the left for decades. These are people who look for government handouts... it is cultural, and the progressives know it. Harry Reid just failed at an attempt to piggyback an amnesty bill on a GI bill. This "Dream" act would give preference and aid (Money) to the children of illegals who go to college in the US..... Not American children, but the children of federal criminals, who themselves are only here because their parents committed a crime. For this, the progressives seek to reward them, and they know it......Look at Obama's Aunt getting asylum and citizenship after being ordered to leave the country 2 years ago and ignoring the court order, blaming the system for forcing housing, food and healthcare on her, which is why she stayed in the first place, Ungrateful !..... My first question is why didn't they escort her to the airport and put her on a plane the first time, and the second is that it's obvious that Obama pressured the judge to grant her amnesty
Cap and Trade, Environmental activism (Al Gore and his fake global warming scam), Health care, Housing, Financial and manufacturing crisis..... all concocted to gain control over Americans, grow government, and lower our standard so that "Everyone can get a chance" to quote the immaculate one. Well I have worked for everything I have, and worked hard, just as I am sure you too have toiled to give your families the best you can..... Now is the time that we need to make this government work for us and our well being, the same as we work for our families, the way it was intended to be when the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence.
WE are the MAJORITY, and we need to exercise our right to control how we are governed, this crosses party lines because all that matters is that the person we choose embodies OUR principals...... There is nothing to be guilty of when you ask your government to follow the law, to abide by the Constitution, and to protect us before any other people........ That is their first responsibility under the law and the Constitution. Enough pandering to the small groups of loudmouth people who believe they are owed something for nothing.... they are just like us, they need to be made to understand that WE THE PEOPLE, will not finance their life long vacation in America, that they too must work for what they want, that we do not owe them anything, and that neither race, religion, ethnicity or gender entitle you to special treatment. The government also needs to understand that we will not fund the world before we take care of our own country first. It's a simple enough concept, we have done it before, we can do it again.
(copied from "The Voice of Reason!")
VOTE, VOTE , VOTE God Bless America !
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Less than 30 days, till voters take back America!
VICTORY in California; Gov. Schwarznegger Vetoes In-State Tuition Bill
Chris ChmielenskiLate Thursday night, California Governor Arnold Schwarznegger vetoed two bills that would have expanded the eligibility of in-state tuition and financial aid benefits to illegal aliens.
Many thanks to our activists in California who have been faxing, phoning, and writing Gov. Schwarznegger and state legislators urging vetoes of the two bills. California still allows some illegal aliens to receive discounted tuition rates, but the California Supreme Court will soon hear a case that could overturn that law as well.
Also this week, both chambers of Congress adjourned for their pre-election recess. Most Members will return to their home districts and begin campaigning. It's important to note that because of your activism, not one vote on a mass amnesty bill has been cast since this Congress first convened 21 months ago.
A few weeks ago, I told you that we had 89 candidates listed as "True Reformers" on our Candidate Comparison pages. "True Reformers" are candidates who agree with NumbersUSA on most or all of our top priorities.
Since then, we've added 13 more "True Reformers" to that list, and we continue to receive new surveys on a daily basis. Take a look at some of the more notable races from across the country where we've recently identified a "True Reformer":
* Robert Ehrlich - Governor Race in Maryland - The former Maryland governor is running against current governor Martin O'Malley looking to get his old job back. Ehrlich agreed with NumbersUSA on all six questions asked on the state and local survey.
* Allen West - House Race in Florida's 22nd District - The seat is currently held by Ron Klein who has an immigration report grade of a B. But Allen West doesn't think a B is good enough and completed our survey, answering yes on all 12 questions.
* Paul Gosar - House Race in Arizona's 1st District - Incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick has a C. Challenger Paul Gosar completed a survey thanks to the efforts of our Local Power team members in Arizona. We now have a "True Reformer" running in all three of Arizona's competitive House races!
* Ilario Pantano - House Race in North Carolina's 7th District - Like Florida's 22nd, the incumbent Mike McIntyre has a very good immigration grade (B+), but Pantano pledges to be better, answering yes on all 12 questions on the survey.
Chris ChmielenskiLate Thursday night, California Governor Arnold Schwarznegger vetoed two bills that would have expanded the eligibility of in-state tuition and financial aid benefits to illegal aliens.
Many thanks to our activists in California who have been faxing, phoning, and writing Gov. Schwarznegger and state legislators urging vetoes of the two bills. California still allows some illegal aliens to receive discounted tuition rates, but the California Supreme Court will soon hear a case that could overturn that law as well.
Also this week, both chambers of Congress adjourned for their pre-election recess. Most Members will return to their home districts and begin campaigning. It's important to note that because of your activism, not one vote on a mass amnesty bill has been cast since this Congress first convened 21 months ago.
A few weeks ago, I told you that we had 89 candidates listed as "True Reformers" on our Candidate Comparison pages. "True Reformers" are candidates who agree with NumbersUSA on most or all of our top priorities.
Since then, we've added 13 more "True Reformers" to that list, and we continue to receive new surveys on a daily basis. Take a look at some of the more notable races from across the country where we've recently identified a "True Reformer":
* Robert Ehrlich - Governor Race in Maryland - The former Maryland governor is running against current governor Martin O'Malley looking to get his old job back. Ehrlich agreed with NumbersUSA on all six questions asked on the state and local survey.
* Allen West - House Race in Florida's 22nd District - The seat is currently held by Ron Klein who has an immigration report grade of a B. But Allen West doesn't think a B is good enough and completed our survey, answering yes on all 12 questions.
* Paul Gosar - House Race in Arizona's 1st District - Incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick has a C. Challenger Paul Gosar completed a survey thanks to the efforts of our Local Power team members in Arizona. We now have a "True Reformer" running in all three of Arizona's competitive House races!
* Ilario Pantano - House Race in North Carolina's 7th District - Like Florida's 22nd, the incumbent Mike McIntyre has a very good immigration grade (B+), but Pantano pledges to be better, answering yes on all 12 questions on the survey.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Better make sure you vote in November and get those Demo-craps out of power
John Hall’s Shame
By Jack Puglis Thursday, September 30, 2010
Democrat Congressman John Hall’s (NY-19) campaign manager, somebody named Patrick McGarrity, must fail to understand the meaning of his own words.
McGarrity authored an email that described the mission of the Facebook ANTI-C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. (Collectivist Redistributionist Anti-American Progressive Totalitarian Antagonistic Slanderous Treasonous Insidious Cretin) page as hate filled. [STRIKE ONE]
Here’s the correct mission statement: “To undermine C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C.s and their dangerous agenda.” What McGarrity posted instead was in fact a description of C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. behavior – radical leftist behavior. Could McGarrity deliberately and dishonestly have plugged the wrong words into his email? Message to McGarrity: the C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. definition describes you and your candidate, John Hall’s political position. [STRIKE 2]
John Hall’s shame: by this attack, he is defending totalitarianism, socialism, tyranny and communism. There can be no other conclusion from his negative comments about the ANTI- C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. (A-C) page, since it is clearly dedicated to moderate, common sense, constitutional conservatism. All of the A-C page’s posts, links and notes support this position. [STRIKE 3. You’re out, McGarrity.]
McGarrity, who lives in an ethical desert, refers to the A-C group as “dangerous and extreme.” As with all radical leftists, he makes such vicious claims but fails to identify just what is dangerous or extreme. It is easy to write bitter words; it is hard to back them up. McGarrity’s words are the true hate-filled rhetoric.
You may view the A-C page on Facebook and decide for yourself if you see any item that is “dangerous or extreme.” Hint: you will find nothing of the sort, but you will note a great deal of material showing how our radical liberal government is causing damage to the nation.
Extreme is an interesting pejorative. Apparently, based upon McGarrity’s words, his candidate, John Hall, subscribes to Barack Obama’s far-left radical progressive socialist agenda. Far left radicals are extreme, by definition. This is Marxism on display in a candidate’s heart for all to see.
By contrast, the A-C page, like the tea parties, dwells on the moderate right. McGarrity seems to fail to understand what the far right is. The moderate conservatives of the A-C page and the tea parties strongly reject the radical right just as they abhor the radical left.
The Republican Party has lost its way in recent years and has drifted to the left of center. The Democrat Party has not so drifted, but rather has driven itself to the extreme left. From the vantage points of both parties, moderate conservatives look very far away, politically.
They are applying the term extreme right with malice of intent, but both groups have moved so far off course that patriotic constitutional ideals also look very strange to them. Their mutual leftward shift, coupled with the high levels of corruption in both parties, marks them as unfit to govern.
Strong feelings expressed on the A-C Facebook page therefore do not constitute extremism or radicalism; violations of the United States constitution by the president and the congress—and possibly by John Hall in the future—do.
The far right in the United States bears several striking analogies to the far-left radical Marxists of the Obama administration and the present Democrat congress. The extremists on the left and the right both want to exceed the constitution’s authority: the far left through tyranny, the far right through the dissolution of government. Both would destroy the health and well-being of our nation. Both ideologies are unacceptable to the A-C page.
The A-C page, in lockstep with the tea parties, argues for adherence to the constitution, the same document that Barack Obama describes as an obstacle to his progress. The A-C page holds precious the ideals of fiscal responsibility, limited government, reduced restrictions of freedoms and respect for the natural rights of individuals as guaranteed by our constitution.
In order for John Hall to participate in the radical leftist conversion of the nation to Marxism, he must assist Obama in the destruction of our constitution, our government and our way of life. It appears that McGarrity is exposing the reality of John Hall’s ideals. His DANGEROUS and EXTREME ideals.
McGarrity is telling you, then, that John Hall subscribes to far-left radical progressive values via tyrannical changes to the system. Is this who you want in congress?
By Jack Puglis Thursday, September 30, 2010
Democrat Congressman John Hall’s (NY-19) campaign manager, somebody named Patrick McGarrity, must fail to understand the meaning of his own words.
McGarrity authored an email that described the mission of the Facebook ANTI-C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. (Collectivist Redistributionist Anti-American Progressive Totalitarian Antagonistic Slanderous Treasonous Insidious Cretin) page as hate filled. [STRIKE ONE]
Here’s the correct mission statement: “To undermine C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C.s and their dangerous agenda.” What McGarrity posted instead was in fact a description of C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. behavior – radical leftist behavior. Could McGarrity deliberately and dishonestly have plugged the wrong words into his email? Message to McGarrity: the C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. definition describes you and your candidate, John Hall’s political position. [STRIKE 2]
John Hall’s shame: by this attack, he is defending totalitarianism, socialism, tyranny and communism. There can be no other conclusion from his negative comments about the ANTI- C.R.A.P.T.A.S.T.I.C. (A-C) page, since it is clearly dedicated to moderate, common sense, constitutional conservatism. All of the A-C page’s posts, links and notes support this position. [STRIKE 3. You’re out, McGarrity.]
McGarrity, who lives in an ethical desert, refers to the A-C group as “dangerous and extreme.” As with all radical leftists, he makes such vicious claims but fails to identify just what is dangerous or extreme. It is easy to write bitter words; it is hard to back them up. McGarrity’s words are the true hate-filled rhetoric.
You may view the A-C page on Facebook and decide for yourself if you see any item that is “dangerous or extreme.” Hint: you will find nothing of the sort, but you will note a great deal of material showing how our radical liberal government is causing damage to the nation.
Extreme is an interesting pejorative. Apparently, based upon McGarrity’s words, his candidate, John Hall, subscribes to Barack Obama’s far-left radical progressive socialist agenda. Far left radicals are extreme, by definition. This is Marxism on display in a candidate’s heart for all to see.
By contrast, the A-C page, like the tea parties, dwells on the moderate right. McGarrity seems to fail to understand what the far right is. The moderate conservatives of the A-C page and the tea parties strongly reject the radical right just as they abhor the radical left.
The Republican Party has lost its way in recent years and has drifted to the left of center. The Democrat Party has not so drifted, but rather has driven itself to the extreme left. From the vantage points of both parties, moderate conservatives look very far away, politically.
They are applying the term extreme right with malice of intent, but both groups have moved so far off course that patriotic constitutional ideals also look very strange to them. Their mutual leftward shift, coupled with the high levels of corruption in both parties, marks them as unfit to govern.
Strong feelings expressed on the A-C Facebook page therefore do not constitute extremism or radicalism; violations of the United States constitution by the president and the congress—and possibly by John Hall in the future—do.
The far right in the United States bears several striking analogies to the far-left radical Marxists of the Obama administration and the present Democrat congress. The extremists on the left and the right both want to exceed the constitution’s authority: the far left through tyranny, the far right through the dissolution of government. Both would destroy the health and well-being of our nation. Both ideologies are unacceptable to the A-C page.
The A-C page, in lockstep with the tea parties, argues for adherence to the constitution, the same document that Barack Obama describes as an obstacle to his progress. The A-C page holds precious the ideals of fiscal responsibility, limited government, reduced restrictions of freedoms and respect for the natural rights of individuals as guaranteed by our constitution.
In order for John Hall to participate in the radical leftist conversion of the nation to Marxism, he must assist Obama in the destruction of our constitution, our government and our way of life. It appears that McGarrity is exposing the reality of John Hall’s ideals. His DANGEROUS and EXTREME ideals.
McGarrity is telling you, then, that John Hall subscribes to far-left radical progressive values via tyrannical changes to the system. Is this who you want in congress?
Think not? Better think again!
If Obuma has his way, America too will fall!
CRESCENT MOON OVER DEUTSCHLAND
MUSLIM CONQUEST CONTINUES
By
Paul L. Williams, Ph.D.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germans have failed to grasp how Muslim immigration has transformed their country and will have to come to terms with more mosques than churches throughout the countryside, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily.
“Our country is going to carry on changing, and integration is also a task for the society taking up the task of dealing with immigrants,” Ms. Merkel told the daily newspaper.“For years we’ve been deceiving ourselves about this. Mosques, for example, are going to be a more prominent part of our cities than they were before.”
Germany, with a population of 4-5million Muslims, has been divided in recent weeks by a debate over remarks by the Bundesbank’s Thilo Sarrazin, who argued Turkish and Arab immigrants were failing to integrate and were swamping Germany with a higher birth rate.
The Chancellor’s remarks represent the first official acknowledgment that Germany, like other European countries, is destined to become a stronghold of Islam. has admitted that the country will some become a stronghold.
In France 30% of children age 20 years and below are Muslims. The ratio in Paris and Marseilles has soared to 45%. In southern France there are more Mosques than churches.
The situation within the United Kingdom is not much different. In last 30 years, the Muslim population there has climbed from 82,000 to 2.5 millions. Presently, there are over 1000 mosques throughout Great Britain –- many of which were converted from churches.
In Belgium, 50% newborns are Muslims and reportedly its Islamic population hovers around 25%. A similar statistic holds true for The Netherlands.
It’s the same story in Russia where one in five inhabitants are Muslim.
Muammar Gaddafi recently stated that “There are signs that Allah will grant victory to Islam in Europe without sword, without gun, without conquest. We don’t need terrorists; we don’t need homicide bombers. The 50 plus million Muslims (in Europe) will turn it into the Muslim Continent within a few decades.”
The statistics support him.
CRESCENT MOON OVER DEUTSCHLAND
MUSLIM CONQUEST CONTINUES
By
Paul L. Williams, Ph.D.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germans have failed to grasp how Muslim immigration has transformed their country and will have to come to terms with more mosques than churches throughout the countryside, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily.
“Our country is going to carry on changing, and integration is also a task for the society taking up the task of dealing with immigrants,” Ms. Merkel told the daily newspaper.“For years we’ve been deceiving ourselves about this. Mosques, for example, are going to be a more prominent part of our cities than they were before.”
Germany, with a population of 4-5million Muslims, has been divided in recent weeks by a debate over remarks by the Bundesbank’s Thilo Sarrazin, who argued Turkish and Arab immigrants were failing to integrate and were swamping Germany with a higher birth rate.
The Chancellor’s remarks represent the first official acknowledgment that Germany, like other European countries, is destined to become a stronghold of Islam. has admitted that the country will some become a stronghold.
In France 30% of children age 20 years and below are Muslims. The ratio in Paris and Marseilles has soared to 45%. In southern France there are more Mosques than churches.
The situation within the United Kingdom is not much different. In last 30 years, the Muslim population there has climbed from 82,000 to 2.5 millions. Presently, there are over 1000 mosques throughout Great Britain –- many of which were converted from churches.
In Belgium, 50% newborns are Muslims and reportedly its Islamic population hovers around 25%. A similar statistic holds true for The Netherlands.
It’s the same story in Russia where one in five inhabitants are Muslim.
Muammar Gaddafi recently stated that “There are signs that Allah will grant victory to Islam in Europe without sword, without gun, without conquest. We don’t need terrorists; we don’t need homicide bombers. The 50 plus million Muslims (in Europe) will turn it into the Muslim Continent within a few decades.”
The statistics support him.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Shiari' ah law the same as American law????? Give me a break!
If you can believe that, then go live in a Muslim country and find out for yourself.
Is American Law Really the Same as Muslim Shari'ah, As Ground Zero Mosque Imam Rauf Boasts?
Crime & Punishment in Islamic Law
By Kelly O'Connell Sunday, September 26, 2010
This article examines classic Islamic law, the “Shari’ah,” regarding crime and punishment. Recently, the “Ground Zero Imam” Egyptian Feisal Abdul Rauf claimed Muslim and American law were essentially the same. He said, “What’s right with America and what’s right with Islam are, in fact, very much in sync…I call America a Sharia compliant state.” But what would being a “Shari’ah compliant state” really mean? To understand this, we need to study the details of Shari’ah law.
One way to better understand Muslim Shari’ah law, is by taking a particular sub-category, such as crime and punishment, to see how Islam treats these topics. While analyzing this issue, the reader will undoubtedly begin to realize Shari’ah and American law are not so similar, and that perhaps Rauf is wildly bluffing (or something else). He claims American law is similar to Muslim because they are both “from God,” while ignoring the fact mankind has created many Gods over millenniums, each mostly opposed to the rest.
Of course, Islamic views of crime and punishment have shifted occasionally over the centuries, and the Shari’ah varies between regimes and Muslim schools. This essay gives a general picture of the Shari’ah on these topics.
I General Introduction to Islamic “Shari’ah” Law
The foundation of Islamic Shari’ah law is the Qur’an; combined with the Sunna, or the Prophet’s model behavior; the consensus of the four schools (Ijma), and analogical reasoning (Qiyas), according to Shari’ah: The Islamic Law by Abdur Rahman I. Doi. These sources are considered divine.
The Qur’an is believed to have “co-existed with God Himself in a heavenly book, known as the ‘Mother Book’” written in Arabic from all eternity,”[a] writes David Forte in Studies in Islamic Law; Classical & Contemporary Application.
The Shari’ah seamlessly combines public, private and religious law, featuring elements of ancient codes, such as revenge. For instance, at a public execution for a crime against a person, the victim will normally be present in the crowd, viewing the impending death. The punishment is owned by the victim or their kin, and only they can stop the killing from taking place, normally by acceptance of blood-money (diya).
II General Description of Shari’ah Criminal Law
To Western eyes, the Shari’ah presents a disorganized and incomplete description of Criminal Law. According to Joseph Schacht, in Introduction to Islamic Law,
There exists no general concept of penal law in Islam. The concepts of guilt and criminal responsibility are little developed, that of mitigating circumstances does not exist; any theory of attempt, complicity, of concurrence is lacking. On the other hand, the theory of punishments, with its distinction of private vengeance, hadd punishments, ta’zir, and coercive and preventative measures, shows a considerable variety of ideas.
As Forte points out, one cannot actually say there is a modern Muslim penal code, writing, “Islamic law does not possess a concept of penal law comparable to that of modern systems. Instead, it categorizes its offenses by the types of punishment they engender.”
Therefore, in terms of punishments, there are five basic categories. Behavior with a specifically prescribed punishment is under hadd. Discretionary punishment for various acts are under ta’zir, where the judge sets whatever penalty he chooses. Personal revenge, where retaliation or blood-money (diya) is applicable, is under jinayat. Offense against the state receive administrative penalties, or siyasa. And crimes where the appropriate, or chosen response, is personal religious penance, are under kaffara.
III Criminal Procedure
Shari’ah legal procedure is a somewhat counter-intuitive process. Rules for choosing the proper court and applying correct procedures, essential for American Due Process, are virtually non-existent in Islamic law. Rudolph Peters writes in Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law,
There are very few general principles in Islamic criminal law. The classical books of fiqh do not contain chapters dealing with general notions or rules. Those that exist are either mentioned in each chapter devoted to a specific crime or they must be found by deduction.
The most important local players in the Muslim legal system are the judge (qadi), the police (shurta), and the Islamic “inspector of the market” (muhtasib), says Schacht. The latter is an official who made sure weights and measures were accurate, but also became a keeper of public morality and justice, including overseeing the police force. The muhtasib controls the system, but the qadi is independent in his decisions. Yet, the state at the highest levels may legally intervene at any time and make political decisions involving the accused which completely derail justice.
Police may beat suspects, not to extract a confession, but merely remind the accused his duty to be truthful, according to There was no office of public prosecution under classic Shari’ah doctrine, although the muhtasib occasionally came to fill this roll as defender of public morals. Most cases were launched by private prosecutions from victims. Only verbal testimony (shahada) is considered evidence, with exceptions made for proof made by smell of alcohol for drunkenness or pregnancy indicating illicit sexual activity. Written documents are merely allowed as memory aids.
IV Muslim Criminal Law Theory
A quintessentially religious law, Shari’ah has set penalties, known as hadd—called “exemplary punishments” (Qur’an 5:38). These are performed in public to remind residents the wages of evil. Retribution is an important part of Muslim punishments, using the standard of Lex Talionis, ie “eye for an eye,” to measure punishment. For example, the murderer should be executed in the same manner his or her victim was dispatched. The Discretionary Punishments (ta’zir) are especially meant to return offenders to the gilded path of Allah.
V Specific Religious Crimes & Punishment Under Islamic Law
The state is generally responsible for criminal punishment, with a few exceptions, writes Peters. The prosecuting next of kin are allowed to personally deliver the death sentence in the case of murder. Also, a slave should be punished by their master, with the exception of amputations, which state executioners enforce. All criminal sentences are to be carried out immediately upon pronouncement, unless a compelling reason exists not do so.
Were an offender to commit several different crimes which cannot be punished at once, a weight-list is used to decide which comes first. Writes Peters,
If a person, having committed several crimes, is sentenced to a number of different penalties, each of them must be carried out. If this is physically impossible, the authorities must first execute those sentences that are founded on the claims of men and then those resulting from the claims of God…If a person has been sentenced to the removal of his eye by way of retaliation, to eighty lashes for slander, to a hundred lashes for unlawful intercourse and to the amputation of the right hand, the head of state or his agent must first carry out the gouging out of the eye because that is the claim of a man, then imprison him until the wound has healed, then carry out the punishment for calumny, etc…
A. Hudud Religious Punishments
Forte describes the religious Hadd crimes, writing “Islamic law denotes five “Quranic offenses” which are regarded as offenses directly against Allah and which compel specific punishment.” These crimes are Unlawful Intercourse (Zina), False Accusation of Unlawful Intercourse (Kadhf); Drinking of Wine (Shurb); Theft (Sariq), and Highway Robbery (Qat’ Al-Tariq).
1. Unlawful Intercourse—Zina: This occurs when a person has sexual relations with anyone not their spouse, nor a concubine (Shari’ah accepts sexual slavery). Technically, adultery is not a crime as no woman has exclusive rights to her husband, and the husband has no exclusive bond with his wife, despite this being an offense against Allah. The crime of Zina can also occur if a man takes and sleeps with a fifth wife while the four previous yet live, weds a close relative or girl before she undergoes puberty, or commits necrophilia, writes Forte.
Proof of Zina must be provided by four adult Muslim males or a confession. The crime should have occurred within the last 30 days. On a discrepancy of testimony, of even a technical irregularity, the four can then receive the punishment for Zina themselves. Peters explains that if a man has sex with a slave not his, he owes her master a fine. A woman who reports a rape but cannot prove it occurred via four witnesses can then be prosecuted for Zina with her unproved accusation acting as a confession.
Zina Penalty:
The punishment here can be stoning, lashing, or both, depending upon the school. A stoning should only be applied to one convicted of unlawful intercourse, who is mentally competent, is a free person, and has already experienced lawful sexual relations in a marriage. For all others, it is either one 100 lashes for a free person, or 50 for a slave. All homosexual relations fulfill the Zina requirements, although the penalty is simply death instead of whipping, according to Peters.
2. False Accusation of Unlawful Intercourse—Kadhf: This occurs when a competent adult slanders another competent adult, who is a free Muslim, with false charges of Zina. Claiming someone is illegitimate also qualifies. Proof for this occurs via normal Islamic means, using oaths of witnesses, or by confession. Under a special rule, a husband may charge his wife with infidelity without risk if he uses the li’an procedure, which Forte describes as “...if he swears four times by Allah that he is speaking the truth and, at a fifth oath, calls down a curse upon himself if he is lying.” The woman, as a defense, may repeat the exact procedure. If either one refuses the li’an, they are considered guilty, ipso facto, and receive the lashes.
Kadhf Penalty: The punishment for kadhf is 80 lashes for a freeman, or 40 for a slave.
3. Drinking of Wine—Shurb: Alcohol was not originally illegal but became so after Muhammad was appalled at the drunkenness of Arab society. The law also applies to any other intoxicant or drug. Proof can be provided by a confession, which can then be withdrawn at any time without penalty. Or witnesses can attest seeing the accused drinking, smelled alcohol on his breath, or observed him soused.
Shurb Penalty: The penalty for intoxicant imbibing is 20-40 lashes.
4. Theft—Sariq: This must be a crime of theft involving removal by stealth of an item owned by another of at least a certain value, kept in a locked area or under guard (hirz), says Peters. For example, removal of a gold coin stored in an animal stable would not qualify. This crime should be prosecuted by the government.
Sariq Penalty: Amputation of the right hand, as based upon Qur’an 5:38; although the Shiites allow just four fingers of the hand amputated, according to Peters. A second, third and fourth conviction can remove all such appendages.
5. Highway Robbery—Qat’ Al-Tariq: The Arabs considered this the most serious kind of crime as it threatens the calm and order of all society, according to Forte. Two types of evil are covered here. The first is robbing travelers from distant places; whereas the second is armed assault into a private home. Even non-Muslims are protected under this law. There must be at least a holdup which occurs outside the city for the penalty to apply to banditry, states Peters. The perpetrator must be of superior force to the victim, and so women do not qualify.
Qat’ Al-Tariq Penalty: The first conviction for this offense merits the amputation of the right hand and left foot of the wrong-doer, although some schools allow a simple deportation if no harm occurs. The second results in amputation of the left hand and right foot.
Says the Qur’an at 5:33,
The just retribution for those who fight GOD and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter.
VI. Other Shari’ah Crimes, Punishment, & Blood Money
A. Ta’zir Penalties
Discretionary penalties, or Ta’zir, are punishments delivered at the qadi’s subjective decision. The purpose is to punish acts against man and God, and sometimes includes reparation and repentance, writes Forte. These punishment vary in severity:
Private admonition to the guilty party, sometimes by letter;
Public reprimand in court;
Public proclamation of the offender’s guilt;
Suspended sentence;
Banishment;
Flogging;
Imprisonment;
Death.
Forte says many crimes are covered by Ta’zir that for some reason have eluded Hadd penalties, such as apostasy (ridda —although some schools consider this hadd), wine selling, homosexual activity, bodily harm or murder, bestiality, perjury, slander and usury.
B. Fines & Blood Money
Fines are paid to the state, whereas blood-money (diya) goes to a victim or kin, based upon his blood-status. Bloodprice is the victim’s worth, only calculable against that of the accused, which controls the punishment. A person cannot receive retaliation for killing a person of a lower bloodprice. For example, a Muslim cannot be executed for murdering a slave or member of the protected classes, being Christians or Jews, deemed dhimmis, i.e. the People of the Book (Bible).
C. Public Scorn, Imprisonment & Banishment
A common punishment is public exposure to scorn (tashir). Achieved by shaving the culprit’s head, or covering his face with soot (especially for false witnesses) and parading him sitting backwards on an donkey, through the community, with a town-crier announcing his sins. Banishment (nafy, taghrib) is associated with two crimes—simple banditry and illegal sex. If a woman is banished for being sexually immoral, a male relative must travel with her to make sure she stays chaste. Imprisonment (habs) is not normally used for penal law, but as a means to encourage debtors to pay.
D. Retaliation
Retaliation for injuries (qisas ma dun al-nafs) comes as Lex Talionis, eye-for-eye punishment in the form of amputations, blinding, and infliction of wounds the victim received. A recent Saudi case involved a man sentenced to judicial paralysis for severing the spinal cord of another. This should not be done till the victim has healed, in case he dies.
E. Theft & Amputation
Muhammad probably borrowed amputation (qat) for theft from the pagan Quaraysh tribe, who inflicted this punishment on rival tribesmen caught stealing, says Forte. While Muslim jurists claim amputation is to prevent recidivism, it more likely originated as judicial revenge. The hand is removed at the wrist, the stump cauterized in boiling oil, at the criminal’s expense, and the hand can be hung around the thief’s neck for three days. Cross-amputation (al-qat min-khilaf) is a punishment for brigands, ie highway robbers.
F. Flogging (Jald)
Flogging by leather whip is a very common punishment under the Shari’ah. The executioner administers this penalty, but should not raise the whip arm above the shoulder. The more serious a crime, the harder the executioner should flog the criminal. For example, one convicted of illegal sex should be beaten more severely than one guilty of drinking alcohol. Men are whipped standing, women seated. Men are stripped to the waist, while women are allowed to keep on clothes. As advised in Qur’an 24:2, the punishment should be public. The blows are to be spread over the body, except for dangerous places, like the head or genitals, as the purpose for whipping is not death.
G. Executions: Beheading, Stoning & Other Means
There are many ways to execute a criminal under Shari’ah. Typically, the mode of execution is beheading by sword, as done at famed Chop-Chop Square in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But the crime defines the manner. For example, homosexuals are executed in typically dramatic fashion, by stoning, beheading, thrown from a high wall or building, hanging, immolated by fire, or buried alive (despite male homosexuality reportedly being rampant in the Middle East, according to Raphael Patai’s Arab Mind).
Execution may be used as retaliation, done by the kin of the victim, according to Qur’an 16:126 & 2:194, which calls for the murderer to be executed in the same manner as he killed his victims. Only if this would result in extended torture will the sword be substituted. The Government will inspect the proposed execution weapon and decide if the person can handle it properly. If not, then a substitute executioner will be arranged.
Death by Stoning (Rajm), or lapidation, is delivered by a crowd with the ultimate intent of killing the victim, writes Peters. The stones used should neither be too large, which would kill the criminal too quickly, nor too small, which would delay the job. The proper size is a stone which fills the hand. Women are to be dug into the earth up to their waists before the event. If the conviction is based upon accusations, the accusers are the first to throw. If the conviction is based upon a confession, the state representative is first to toss.
For Highway Robbery (Qat’ Al-Tariq), if a killing resulted during an attempted robbery, the punishment is beheading by sword. If a murder occurred during an actual theft, the punishment is execution by crucifixion (salb), the body left dying three days. Unlike a normal murder, the family of the victim cannot choose blood-money (diya) instead of execution.
Apostates may renounce Islam by word or deed, including rejecting axiomatic articles of faith, like denying Muhammad’s mission, fasting, or disrespecting the Qur’an. The apostate (ridda) is given three days to reflect, then put to death. Some schools only execute men, whereas the women are kept alive but flogged during the hours of prayer, according to Peters. Frank Vogel, in Islamic Law & Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia states that apostates are beheaded in Saudi Arabia before huge crowds on Friday afternoons, in the public square, directly after prayer time has ceased.
Dhimmis, as Christians and Jews, have no inherent rights or status under the Shari’ah, being harbis, or enemy aliens, naturally at war with Islam. It is only by way of the jizyah, or yearly treaty of war tax, that these can qualify for temporary protection. Should a dhimmi lapse in protection, they can be killed on the spot and their property taken without recompense, according to Schacht. Further, any persons not Muslim or dhimmi are considered pagans and are to be instantly killed under classical shari’ah doctrine.
Conclusion
Even the simplest person can deduce that classical Islamic Shari’ah law cannot possibly fit into the modern world anywhere on the globe. But it is especially impossible to apply this system in America, the land that created modern religious freedom, and let millions escape oppression. Most alarming, the Islamic law does not change to fit into other cultures, but is always offered as a “perfect gift,” delivered at the edge of a sword.
Is it not the most obvious fact imaginable that American law is a thousand times fairer and safer than Shar’iah? Therefore, what kind of a mentality would want to force so much injustice, punishment and destruction upon the American people—in the name of God &¬† the “Religion of Peace”? That Rauf claims this antiquated, unsophisticated and brutal legal system agrees with American law and society says much more about his intentions for his Ground Zero mosque than it does any other topic he will ever discuss.
[a]This idea cannot help but evoke John’s description of the pre-incarnate Christic Logos (Word), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him…” (John 1:1; 18). Undoubtedly, such imagery influenced Muhammad’s fertile imagination when rendering the Qur’an.
Is American Law Really the Same as Muslim Shari'ah, As Ground Zero Mosque Imam Rauf Boasts?
Crime & Punishment in Islamic Law
By Kelly O'Connell Sunday, September 26, 2010
This article examines classic Islamic law, the “Shari’ah,” regarding crime and punishment. Recently, the “Ground Zero Imam” Egyptian Feisal Abdul Rauf claimed Muslim and American law were essentially the same. He said, “What’s right with America and what’s right with Islam are, in fact, very much in sync…I call America a Sharia compliant state.” But what would being a “Shari’ah compliant state” really mean? To understand this, we need to study the details of Shari’ah law.
One way to better understand Muslim Shari’ah law, is by taking a particular sub-category, such as crime and punishment, to see how Islam treats these topics. While analyzing this issue, the reader will undoubtedly begin to realize Shari’ah and American law are not so similar, and that perhaps Rauf is wildly bluffing (or something else). He claims American law is similar to Muslim because they are both “from God,” while ignoring the fact mankind has created many Gods over millenniums, each mostly opposed to the rest.
Of course, Islamic views of crime and punishment have shifted occasionally over the centuries, and the Shari’ah varies between regimes and Muslim schools. This essay gives a general picture of the Shari’ah on these topics.
I General Introduction to Islamic “Shari’ah” Law
The foundation of Islamic Shari’ah law is the Qur’an; combined with the Sunna, or the Prophet’s model behavior; the consensus of the four schools (Ijma), and analogical reasoning (Qiyas), according to Shari’ah: The Islamic Law by Abdur Rahman I. Doi. These sources are considered divine.
The Qur’an is believed to have “co-existed with God Himself in a heavenly book, known as the ‘Mother Book’” written in Arabic from all eternity,”[a] writes David Forte in Studies in Islamic Law; Classical & Contemporary Application.
The Shari’ah seamlessly combines public, private and religious law, featuring elements of ancient codes, such as revenge. For instance, at a public execution for a crime against a person, the victim will normally be present in the crowd, viewing the impending death. The punishment is owned by the victim or their kin, and only they can stop the killing from taking place, normally by acceptance of blood-money (diya).
II General Description of Shari’ah Criminal Law
To Western eyes, the Shari’ah presents a disorganized and incomplete description of Criminal Law. According to Joseph Schacht, in Introduction to Islamic Law,
There exists no general concept of penal law in Islam. The concepts of guilt and criminal responsibility are little developed, that of mitigating circumstances does not exist; any theory of attempt, complicity, of concurrence is lacking. On the other hand, the theory of punishments, with its distinction of private vengeance, hadd punishments, ta’zir, and coercive and preventative measures, shows a considerable variety of ideas.
As Forte points out, one cannot actually say there is a modern Muslim penal code, writing, “Islamic law does not possess a concept of penal law comparable to that of modern systems. Instead, it categorizes its offenses by the types of punishment they engender.”
Therefore, in terms of punishments, there are five basic categories. Behavior with a specifically prescribed punishment is under hadd. Discretionary punishment for various acts are under ta’zir, where the judge sets whatever penalty he chooses. Personal revenge, where retaliation or blood-money (diya) is applicable, is under jinayat. Offense against the state receive administrative penalties, or siyasa. And crimes where the appropriate, or chosen response, is personal religious penance, are under kaffara.
III Criminal Procedure
Shari’ah legal procedure is a somewhat counter-intuitive process. Rules for choosing the proper court and applying correct procedures, essential for American Due Process, are virtually non-existent in Islamic law. Rudolph Peters writes in Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law,
There are very few general principles in Islamic criminal law. The classical books of fiqh do not contain chapters dealing with general notions or rules. Those that exist are either mentioned in each chapter devoted to a specific crime or they must be found by deduction.
The most important local players in the Muslim legal system are the judge (qadi), the police (shurta), and the Islamic “inspector of the market” (muhtasib), says Schacht. The latter is an official who made sure weights and measures were accurate, but also became a keeper of public morality and justice, including overseeing the police force. The muhtasib controls the system, but the qadi is independent in his decisions. Yet, the state at the highest levels may legally intervene at any time and make political decisions involving the accused which completely derail justice.
Police may beat suspects, not to extract a confession, but merely remind the accused his duty to be truthful, according to There was no office of public prosecution under classic Shari’ah doctrine, although the muhtasib occasionally came to fill this roll as defender of public morals. Most cases were launched by private prosecutions from victims. Only verbal testimony (shahada) is considered evidence, with exceptions made for proof made by smell of alcohol for drunkenness or pregnancy indicating illicit sexual activity. Written documents are merely allowed as memory aids.
IV Muslim Criminal Law Theory
A quintessentially religious law, Shari’ah has set penalties, known as hadd—called “exemplary punishments” (Qur’an 5:38). These are performed in public to remind residents the wages of evil. Retribution is an important part of Muslim punishments, using the standard of Lex Talionis, ie “eye for an eye,” to measure punishment. For example, the murderer should be executed in the same manner his or her victim was dispatched. The Discretionary Punishments (ta’zir) are especially meant to return offenders to the gilded path of Allah.
V Specific Religious Crimes & Punishment Under Islamic Law
The state is generally responsible for criminal punishment, with a few exceptions, writes Peters. The prosecuting next of kin are allowed to personally deliver the death sentence in the case of murder. Also, a slave should be punished by their master, with the exception of amputations, which state executioners enforce. All criminal sentences are to be carried out immediately upon pronouncement, unless a compelling reason exists not do so.
Were an offender to commit several different crimes which cannot be punished at once, a weight-list is used to decide which comes first. Writes Peters,
If a person, having committed several crimes, is sentenced to a number of different penalties, each of them must be carried out. If this is physically impossible, the authorities must first execute those sentences that are founded on the claims of men and then those resulting from the claims of God…If a person has been sentenced to the removal of his eye by way of retaliation, to eighty lashes for slander, to a hundred lashes for unlawful intercourse and to the amputation of the right hand, the head of state or his agent must first carry out the gouging out of the eye because that is the claim of a man, then imprison him until the wound has healed, then carry out the punishment for calumny, etc…
A. Hudud Religious Punishments
Forte describes the religious Hadd crimes, writing “Islamic law denotes five “Quranic offenses” which are regarded as offenses directly against Allah and which compel specific punishment.” These crimes are Unlawful Intercourse (Zina), False Accusation of Unlawful Intercourse (Kadhf); Drinking of Wine (Shurb); Theft (Sariq), and Highway Robbery (Qat’ Al-Tariq).
1. Unlawful Intercourse—Zina: This occurs when a person has sexual relations with anyone not their spouse, nor a concubine (Shari’ah accepts sexual slavery). Technically, adultery is not a crime as no woman has exclusive rights to her husband, and the husband has no exclusive bond with his wife, despite this being an offense against Allah. The crime of Zina can also occur if a man takes and sleeps with a fifth wife while the four previous yet live, weds a close relative or girl before she undergoes puberty, or commits necrophilia, writes Forte.
Proof of Zina must be provided by four adult Muslim males or a confession. The crime should have occurred within the last 30 days. On a discrepancy of testimony, of even a technical irregularity, the four can then receive the punishment for Zina themselves. Peters explains that if a man has sex with a slave not his, he owes her master a fine. A woman who reports a rape but cannot prove it occurred via four witnesses can then be prosecuted for Zina with her unproved accusation acting as a confession.
Zina Penalty:
The punishment here can be stoning, lashing, or both, depending upon the school. A stoning should only be applied to one convicted of unlawful intercourse, who is mentally competent, is a free person, and has already experienced lawful sexual relations in a marriage. For all others, it is either one 100 lashes for a free person, or 50 for a slave. All homosexual relations fulfill the Zina requirements, although the penalty is simply death instead of whipping, according to Peters.
2. False Accusation of Unlawful Intercourse—Kadhf: This occurs when a competent adult slanders another competent adult, who is a free Muslim, with false charges of Zina. Claiming someone is illegitimate also qualifies. Proof for this occurs via normal Islamic means, using oaths of witnesses, or by confession. Under a special rule, a husband may charge his wife with infidelity without risk if he uses the li’an procedure, which Forte describes as “...if he swears four times by Allah that he is speaking the truth and, at a fifth oath, calls down a curse upon himself if he is lying.” The woman, as a defense, may repeat the exact procedure. If either one refuses the li’an, they are considered guilty, ipso facto, and receive the lashes.
Kadhf Penalty: The punishment for kadhf is 80 lashes for a freeman, or 40 for a slave.
3. Drinking of Wine—Shurb: Alcohol was not originally illegal but became so after Muhammad was appalled at the drunkenness of Arab society. The law also applies to any other intoxicant or drug. Proof can be provided by a confession, which can then be withdrawn at any time without penalty. Or witnesses can attest seeing the accused drinking, smelled alcohol on his breath, or observed him soused.
Shurb Penalty: The penalty for intoxicant imbibing is 20-40 lashes.
4. Theft—Sariq: This must be a crime of theft involving removal by stealth of an item owned by another of at least a certain value, kept in a locked area or under guard (hirz), says Peters. For example, removal of a gold coin stored in an animal stable would not qualify. This crime should be prosecuted by the government.
Sariq Penalty: Amputation of the right hand, as based upon Qur’an 5:38; although the Shiites allow just four fingers of the hand amputated, according to Peters. A second, third and fourth conviction can remove all such appendages.
5. Highway Robbery—Qat’ Al-Tariq: The Arabs considered this the most serious kind of crime as it threatens the calm and order of all society, according to Forte. Two types of evil are covered here. The first is robbing travelers from distant places; whereas the second is armed assault into a private home. Even non-Muslims are protected under this law. There must be at least a holdup which occurs outside the city for the penalty to apply to banditry, states Peters. The perpetrator must be of superior force to the victim, and so women do not qualify.
Qat’ Al-Tariq Penalty: The first conviction for this offense merits the amputation of the right hand and left foot of the wrong-doer, although some schools allow a simple deportation if no harm occurs. The second results in amputation of the left hand and right foot.
Says the Qur’an at 5:33,
The just retribution for those who fight GOD and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter.
VI. Other Shari’ah Crimes, Punishment, & Blood Money
A. Ta’zir Penalties
Discretionary penalties, or Ta’zir, are punishments delivered at the qadi’s subjective decision. The purpose is to punish acts against man and God, and sometimes includes reparation and repentance, writes Forte. These punishment vary in severity:
Private admonition to the guilty party, sometimes by letter;
Public reprimand in court;
Public proclamation of the offender’s guilt;
Suspended sentence;
Banishment;
Flogging;
Imprisonment;
Death.
Forte says many crimes are covered by Ta’zir that for some reason have eluded Hadd penalties, such as apostasy (ridda —although some schools consider this hadd), wine selling, homosexual activity, bodily harm or murder, bestiality, perjury, slander and usury.
B. Fines & Blood Money
Fines are paid to the state, whereas blood-money (diya) goes to a victim or kin, based upon his blood-status. Bloodprice is the victim’s worth, only calculable against that of the accused, which controls the punishment. A person cannot receive retaliation for killing a person of a lower bloodprice. For example, a Muslim cannot be executed for murdering a slave or member of the protected classes, being Christians or Jews, deemed dhimmis, i.e. the People of the Book (Bible).
C. Public Scorn, Imprisonment & Banishment
A common punishment is public exposure to scorn (tashir). Achieved by shaving the culprit’s head, or covering his face with soot (especially for false witnesses) and parading him sitting backwards on an donkey, through the community, with a town-crier announcing his sins. Banishment (nafy, taghrib) is associated with two crimes—simple banditry and illegal sex. If a woman is banished for being sexually immoral, a male relative must travel with her to make sure she stays chaste. Imprisonment (habs) is not normally used for penal law, but as a means to encourage debtors to pay.
D. Retaliation
Retaliation for injuries (qisas ma dun al-nafs) comes as Lex Talionis, eye-for-eye punishment in the form of amputations, blinding, and infliction of wounds the victim received. A recent Saudi case involved a man sentenced to judicial paralysis for severing the spinal cord of another. This should not be done till the victim has healed, in case he dies.
E. Theft & Amputation
Muhammad probably borrowed amputation (qat) for theft from the pagan Quaraysh tribe, who inflicted this punishment on rival tribesmen caught stealing, says Forte. While Muslim jurists claim amputation is to prevent recidivism, it more likely originated as judicial revenge. The hand is removed at the wrist, the stump cauterized in boiling oil, at the criminal’s expense, and the hand can be hung around the thief’s neck for three days. Cross-amputation (al-qat min-khilaf) is a punishment for brigands, ie highway robbers.
F. Flogging (Jald)
Flogging by leather whip is a very common punishment under the Shari’ah. The executioner administers this penalty, but should not raise the whip arm above the shoulder. The more serious a crime, the harder the executioner should flog the criminal. For example, one convicted of illegal sex should be beaten more severely than one guilty of drinking alcohol. Men are whipped standing, women seated. Men are stripped to the waist, while women are allowed to keep on clothes. As advised in Qur’an 24:2, the punishment should be public. The blows are to be spread over the body, except for dangerous places, like the head or genitals, as the purpose for whipping is not death.
G. Executions: Beheading, Stoning & Other Means
There are many ways to execute a criminal under Shari’ah. Typically, the mode of execution is beheading by sword, as done at famed Chop-Chop Square in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But the crime defines the manner. For example, homosexuals are executed in typically dramatic fashion, by stoning, beheading, thrown from a high wall or building, hanging, immolated by fire, or buried alive (despite male homosexuality reportedly being rampant in the Middle East, according to Raphael Patai’s Arab Mind).
Execution may be used as retaliation, done by the kin of the victim, according to Qur’an 16:126 & 2:194, which calls for the murderer to be executed in the same manner as he killed his victims. Only if this would result in extended torture will the sword be substituted. The Government will inspect the proposed execution weapon and decide if the person can handle it properly. If not, then a substitute executioner will be arranged.
Death by Stoning (Rajm), or lapidation, is delivered by a crowd with the ultimate intent of killing the victim, writes Peters. The stones used should neither be too large, which would kill the criminal too quickly, nor too small, which would delay the job. The proper size is a stone which fills the hand. Women are to be dug into the earth up to their waists before the event. If the conviction is based upon accusations, the accusers are the first to throw. If the conviction is based upon a confession, the state representative is first to toss.
For Highway Robbery (Qat’ Al-Tariq), if a killing resulted during an attempted robbery, the punishment is beheading by sword. If a murder occurred during an actual theft, the punishment is execution by crucifixion (salb), the body left dying three days. Unlike a normal murder, the family of the victim cannot choose blood-money (diya) instead of execution.
Apostates may renounce Islam by word or deed, including rejecting axiomatic articles of faith, like denying Muhammad’s mission, fasting, or disrespecting the Qur’an. The apostate (ridda) is given three days to reflect, then put to death. Some schools only execute men, whereas the women are kept alive but flogged during the hours of prayer, according to Peters. Frank Vogel, in Islamic Law & Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia states that apostates are beheaded in Saudi Arabia before huge crowds on Friday afternoons, in the public square, directly after prayer time has ceased.
Dhimmis, as Christians and Jews, have no inherent rights or status under the Shari’ah, being harbis, or enemy aliens, naturally at war with Islam. It is only by way of the jizyah, or yearly treaty of war tax, that these can qualify for temporary protection. Should a dhimmi lapse in protection, they can be killed on the spot and their property taken without recompense, according to Schacht. Further, any persons not Muslim or dhimmi are considered pagans and are to be instantly killed under classical shari’ah doctrine.
Conclusion
Even the simplest person can deduce that classical Islamic Shari’ah law cannot possibly fit into the modern world anywhere on the globe. But it is especially impossible to apply this system in America, the land that created modern religious freedom, and let millions escape oppression. Most alarming, the Islamic law does not change to fit into other cultures, but is always offered as a “perfect gift,” delivered at the edge of a sword.
Is it not the most obvious fact imaginable that American law is a thousand times fairer and safer than Shar’iah? Therefore, what kind of a mentality would want to force so much injustice, punishment and destruction upon the American people—in the name of God &¬† the “Religion of Peace”? That Rauf claims this antiquated, unsophisticated and brutal legal system agrees with American law and society says much more about his intentions for his Ground Zero mosque than it does any other topic he will ever discuss.
[a]This idea cannot help but evoke John’s description of the pre-incarnate Christic Logos (Word), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him…” (John 1:1; 18). Undoubtedly, such imagery influenced Muhammad’s fertile imagination when rendering the Qur’an.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Vote out the Demo-craps, then retake America
First get rid of the liberal Democrats that encourage the spread of Islam and then get control of the Muslims that perpetrate it and enforce OUR Constitution
Is Sharia Law Creeping Into American Lives?
By Jerry McConnell Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Muslims downplay the above question by scoffingly answering in the negative despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Of course getting devious answers from Muslims is to be expected; that is, until they are ready to threaten a lawsuit due to being offended.
The February 19, 2010 online Bear Creek Ledger (TN) writer Toni stated “You can see the tell tale signs of creeping Sharia Law (Islamic law) through lawsuits and demands made by Muslims in America on an almost daily basis. Whether it’s the Somali Muslim cabdrivers (Mpls.,MN) who refuse to pick up fares who have been consuming alcohol to disabled people with a service canine or it could be something like Muslims demanding foot baths in a public building, it’s the incremental creep of imposing Sharia Law in the US.”
In the same issue of the Bear Creek Ledger this report was published: “Last year Stephen Coughlin (a Pentagon specialist on Islamic law and extremism) was fired because of Muslim officials in the Pentagon who opposed his work. You think there is no threat in the US from Islamists in this country?’‘
Also, this offering from Brian Mosely of the Shelbyville (TN) Times: “Every major Muslim organization is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, a former FBI Agent John Guandolo said, which he said was formed to overthrow America and establish Islamic law.
“They’re having great success of implementing Shariah law, I could give you a thousand examples,’’ Guandolo said.
He said small concessions like installing foot baths, and colleges forced to have separate swimming times for Islamic men and women so not to offend Muslims, are other parts of the strategy.
“The solution to this is you,” Guandolo said. “If you are looking to DHS, the FBI and Congress to solve this . you’re going to be woefully disappointed.”
So even a former FBI Agent agrees with the premise that Sharia is working its way into and through our judicial system at all levels; and their arrogant and selfish demands for attention are being heard and dealt with by people in authoritative positions.
The above mentioned Bear Creek Ledger covered this story on August 02, 2008 from Shelbyville, TN that the large Tyson Foods’ poultry processing plant had pandered to the Somali Muslims employed there by dropping Labor Day as a paid holiday and adding the Islam holiday of Eid al-Fitr which occurs near the end of Ramadan. Out of 1,200 employees at the plant, Somalis represent approximately 250 or about 20 percent of the total.
It was reported that Shelbyville’s Tyson plant “does have a prayer room to accommodate the needs of Muslim Team Members/” Also reported was that “the Somali’s have a very active legal advocate system and they use it to advance their extremist culture. Don’t expect the Somali’s to assimilate to American culture. They will use our laws to make money and then sue to advance their own Islamist ways.”
One more of the many events that the Bear Creek Ledger’s author Toni provides is one titled, “More Dhimmitude from Minnesota” about a school in that state that bows to Islam but fights the terror threats of Christianity; (the underlined are my words, not Toni’s.)
On April 12, 2007, Toni relates an example provided by Powerline’s Katherine Kersten about installing foot washing basins in the schools of Mpls. Community & Technical College. Kersten reports that the officials of that school say the college, a public institution, has a strict policy of not promoting religion or favoring one religion over another.
Kersten says, “Where Christianity is concerned, the college goes to great lengths to avoid any hint of what the courts call “entanglement” or support of the church. Yet the college is planning to install facilities for Muslims to use in preparing for daily prayers, an apparent first at a public institution in Minnesota.”
Separation of church and state is clearest at the college during the Christmas season. A memo from . President Phil Davis, dated Nov. 28, 2006, exhorted supervisors to banish any public display of holiday cheer: “As we head into the holiday season . all public offices and areas should refrain from displays that may represent to our students, employees or the public that the college is promoting any particular religion.
“They appear to take a very different attitude toward Islam. Welcome and accommodation are the order of the day for the college’s more than 500 Muslim students. The college has worked with local Muslim leaders to ensure that these students’ prayer needs and concerns are adequately addressed, Davis told me.”
According to Wikipedia, Minneapolis Community and Technical College has about 12,000 students. If, as Kersten says, the Muslim population at the College is “more than 500 students”, that means that the Muslims represent about four to five percent of the total enrollment.
What sort of power does the Islamist-Muslim religion have to cause the school to ignore the religious beliefs and practices of more than 11,000 students or about 95 percent of the students while catering to “more than 500 students,” about 4 to 5 percent?
I’d like to pose that question to Governor Pawlenty, a potential presidential candidate in 2012.
Then again, perhaps I should ask the renowned Washington Post columnist, Eugene Robinson, of the National Association of Black Journalists. He associates frequently on the MSNBC shows of Olbermann, Maddow and Matthews and he is also deeply endowed in their perverted bias to matters un-American and anti-Christian.
Guy Rodgers, Executive Director of Act for America quoted Robinson when he dismissed any concern about a “stealthy insinuation of sharia into America’s legal system, because no such thing is happening.”
Rodgers continued, “In a September 21st, column Robinson belittled Newt Gingrich for painting “Islam as the new Red Menace” unveiling the latest, and predictable, name-calling tactic intended to put us in our place-we’re all supposedly engaging in “McCarthyism.”
“Robinson’s arrogance is exceeded only by his ignorance” said Rodgers then also added these examples of what Gingrich was alluding to:
Sharia has penetrated our financial system, in the form of sharia-compliant financial instruments offered by the likes of Citi Group and AIG. In an example of government accommodating sharia, Minnesota offers sharia-compliant mortgages for Muslims.
Muslim prison employees, law enforcement officials, and even a Disneyland employee, have sued for the right to wear the hijab as part of their uniforms.
Muslim parents in New Jersey are demanding private prayer rooms for their children in the PUBLIC elementary schools.
According to a National Public Radio report in 2007, as many as 100,000 Muslims are living in polygamous marriages here in America.
Harvard provided women-only gym hours to accommodate the demands of Muslims
As I have said before in other columns, the danger of continuing in power the liberal Democrats who are hell-bent to install a Socialist form of government is one that we can remedy in the November elections by firing ALL of them. But the creeping incursion of Islamic-Muslimism is another matter.
In another column I equated that problem to a creeping form of cancer that can wipe out the entire country just by swallowing up everything that we allow them. Compliance with their demands HAS GOT TO STOP.
First get rid of the liberal Democrats that encourage the spread of Islam and then get control of the Muslims that perpetrate it and enforce OUR Constitution.
Is Sharia Law Creeping Into American Lives?
By Jerry McConnell Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Muslims downplay the above question by scoffingly answering in the negative despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Of course getting devious answers from Muslims is to be expected; that is, until they are ready to threaten a lawsuit due to being offended.
The February 19, 2010 online Bear Creek Ledger (TN) writer Toni stated “You can see the tell tale signs of creeping Sharia Law (Islamic law) through lawsuits and demands made by Muslims in America on an almost daily basis. Whether it’s the Somali Muslim cabdrivers (Mpls.,MN) who refuse to pick up fares who have been consuming alcohol to disabled people with a service canine or it could be something like Muslims demanding foot baths in a public building, it’s the incremental creep of imposing Sharia Law in the US.”
In the same issue of the Bear Creek Ledger this report was published: “Last year Stephen Coughlin (a Pentagon specialist on Islamic law and extremism) was fired because of Muslim officials in the Pentagon who opposed his work. You think there is no threat in the US from Islamists in this country?’‘
Also, this offering from Brian Mosely of the Shelbyville (TN) Times: “Every major Muslim organization is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, a former FBI Agent John Guandolo said, which he said was formed to overthrow America and establish Islamic law.
“They’re having great success of implementing Shariah law, I could give you a thousand examples,’’ Guandolo said.
He said small concessions like installing foot baths, and colleges forced to have separate swimming times for Islamic men and women so not to offend Muslims, are other parts of the strategy.
“The solution to this is you,” Guandolo said. “If you are looking to DHS, the FBI and Congress to solve this . you’re going to be woefully disappointed.”
So even a former FBI Agent agrees with the premise that Sharia is working its way into and through our judicial system at all levels; and their arrogant and selfish demands for attention are being heard and dealt with by people in authoritative positions.
The above mentioned Bear Creek Ledger covered this story on August 02, 2008 from Shelbyville, TN that the large Tyson Foods’ poultry processing plant had pandered to the Somali Muslims employed there by dropping Labor Day as a paid holiday and adding the Islam holiday of Eid al-Fitr which occurs near the end of Ramadan. Out of 1,200 employees at the plant, Somalis represent approximately 250 or about 20 percent of the total.
It was reported that Shelbyville’s Tyson plant “does have a prayer room to accommodate the needs of Muslim Team Members/” Also reported was that “the Somali’s have a very active legal advocate system and they use it to advance their extremist culture. Don’t expect the Somali’s to assimilate to American culture. They will use our laws to make money and then sue to advance their own Islamist ways.”
One more of the many events that the Bear Creek Ledger’s author Toni provides is one titled, “More Dhimmitude from Minnesota” about a school in that state that bows to Islam but fights the terror threats of Christianity; (the underlined are my words, not Toni’s.)
On April 12, 2007, Toni relates an example provided by Powerline’s Katherine Kersten about installing foot washing basins in the schools of Mpls. Community & Technical College. Kersten reports that the officials of that school say the college, a public institution, has a strict policy of not promoting religion or favoring one religion over another.
Kersten says, “Where Christianity is concerned, the college goes to great lengths to avoid any hint of what the courts call “entanglement” or support of the church. Yet the college is planning to install facilities for Muslims to use in preparing for daily prayers, an apparent first at a public institution in Minnesota.”
Separation of church and state is clearest at the college during the Christmas season. A memo from . President Phil Davis, dated Nov. 28, 2006, exhorted supervisors to banish any public display of holiday cheer: “As we head into the holiday season . all public offices and areas should refrain from displays that may represent to our students, employees or the public that the college is promoting any particular religion.
“They appear to take a very different attitude toward Islam. Welcome and accommodation are the order of the day for the college’s more than 500 Muslim students. The college has worked with local Muslim leaders to ensure that these students’ prayer needs and concerns are adequately addressed, Davis told me.”
According to Wikipedia, Minneapolis Community and Technical College has about 12,000 students. If, as Kersten says, the Muslim population at the College is “more than 500 students”, that means that the Muslims represent about four to five percent of the total enrollment.
What sort of power does the Islamist-Muslim religion have to cause the school to ignore the religious beliefs and practices of more than 11,000 students or about 95 percent of the students while catering to “more than 500 students,” about 4 to 5 percent?
I’d like to pose that question to Governor Pawlenty, a potential presidential candidate in 2012.
Then again, perhaps I should ask the renowned Washington Post columnist, Eugene Robinson, of the National Association of Black Journalists. He associates frequently on the MSNBC shows of Olbermann, Maddow and Matthews and he is also deeply endowed in their perverted bias to matters un-American and anti-Christian.
Guy Rodgers, Executive Director of Act for America quoted Robinson when he dismissed any concern about a “stealthy insinuation of sharia into America’s legal system, because no such thing is happening.”
Rodgers continued, “In a September 21st, column Robinson belittled Newt Gingrich for painting “Islam as the new Red Menace” unveiling the latest, and predictable, name-calling tactic intended to put us in our place-we’re all supposedly engaging in “McCarthyism.”
“Robinson’s arrogance is exceeded only by his ignorance” said Rodgers then also added these examples of what Gingrich was alluding to:
Sharia has penetrated our financial system, in the form of sharia-compliant financial instruments offered by the likes of Citi Group and AIG. In an example of government accommodating sharia, Minnesota offers sharia-compliant mortgages for Muslims.
Muslim prison employees, law enforcement officials, and even a Disneyland employee, have sued for the right to wear the hijab as part of their uniforms.
Muslim parents in New Jersey are demanding private prayer rooms for their children in the PUBLIC elementary schools.
According to a National Public Radio report in 2007, as many as 100,000 Muslims are living in polygamous marriages here in America.
Harvard provided women-only gym hours to accommodate the demands of Muslims
As I have said before in other columns, the danger of continuing in power the liberal Democrats who are hell-bent to install a Socialist form of government is one that we can remedy in the November elections by firing ALL of them. But the creeping incursion of Islamic-Muslimism is another matter.
In another column I equated that problem to a creeping form of cancer that can wipe out the entire country just by swallowing up everything that we allow them. Compliance with their demands HAS GOT TO STOP.
First get rid of the liberal Democrats that encourage the spread of Islam and then get control of the Muslims that perpetrate it and enforce OUR Constitution.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
In case you do not think your telephone calls count......
(At least one party is listening to us!)
Republicans to reclaim marriage and life issues on their agenda!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great news!
So many of you emailed the Republican House leader's office last week urging the party not to backtrack on its commitment to life, liberty and marriage that you brought the email servers down. We have just been informed that the Republican leadership WILL now include references to marriage and federal funding of abortion in their election agenda.
Thank you for acting so promptly! Before your action this was a dead issue -- you helped turn attitudes around, a great victory.
But now we must keep the momentum, so we're asking you to do two things today:
1. Commit to participate in the PRAY and ACT campaign for forty days of prayer and fasting (if possible) beginning today, September 20 through October 30. CLICK HERE to download a Pray and ACT guide to get you started.
2. Provide your personal financial support to help fuel this Manhattan Declaration movement. This is a very low overhead operation with no staff. But we need funds to keep the website operating. Our resources are very low at the moment and we very much need your help. Visit the Manhattan Declaration website to make a donation.
Help us encourage a growing, vibrant movement of Christians from across denominational and confessional lines, to impact our society with Christian truth.
Thank you and God Bless you,
Timothy George
Republicans to reclaim marriage and life issues on their agenda!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great news!
So many of you emailed the Republican House leader's office last week urging the party not to backtrack on its commitment to life, liberty and marriage that you brought the email servers down. We have just been informed that the Republican leadership WILL now include references to marriage and federal funding of abortion in their election agenda.
Thank you for acting so promptly! Before your action this was a dead issue -- you helped turn attitudes around, a great victory.
But now we must keep the momentum, so we're asking you to do two things today:
1. Commit to participate in the PRAY and ACT campaign for forty days of prayer and fasting (if possible) beginning today, September 20 through October 30. CLICK HERE to download a Pray and ACT guide to get you started.
2. Provide your personal financial support to help fuel this Manhattan Declaration movement. This is a very low overhead operation with no staff. But we need funds to keep the website operating. Our resources are very low at the moment and we very much need your help. Visit the Manhattan Declaration website to make a donation.
Help us encourage a growing, vibrant movement of Christians from across denominational and confessional lines, to impact our society with Christian truth.
Thank you and God Bless you,
Timothy George
Why would OBuma reference GOD, when he thinks he is the Messiah
September 21, 2010
OBAMA OMITS "CREATOR" FROM SPEECH
On September 15, President Barack Obama addressed the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 33rd Annual Awards. In his remarks, he made reference to the Declaration of Independence. He said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed with certain inalienable rights: life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the president's words: There are several errors here, though only one that really matters. On a small scale, Jefferson chose "unalienable" instead of "inalienable," and following the word "rights" there is no colon: instead it should read, "that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." What really matters, however, is the omission of any reference to God: after "equal" it should read, "that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…." Some are blaming the president for this error, but it is his speech writers, and those who vetted his address, who are to blame. The prepared remarks, as released by the White House, omit the word "Creator." Since this got by so many in the White House, it makes us wonder whether only incompetence was at work. While Obama may be given a pass, it is striking nonetheless that this omission got by a former constitutional law professor. There are four references to God in the Declaration. God is the author of the "laws of nature and nature's God"; he is the "Creator" who "endowed" us with "unalienable rights"; he is "the Supreme Judge of the world"; and he provides "the protection of Divine Providence." As a former professor of political science, I made sure my students understood this, but evidently none of those who write or vet the president's speeches learned this in college. They should pay more attention, especially given the suspicion that Obama likes his religion lite.
OBAMA OMITS "CREATOR" FROM SPEECH
On September 15, President Barack Obama addressed the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 33rd Annual Awards. In his remarks, he made reference to the Declaration of Independence. He said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed with certain inalienable rights: life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the president's words: There are several errors here, though only one that really matters. On a small scale, Jefferson chose "unalienable" instead of "inalienable," and following the word "rights" there is no colon: instead it should read, "that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." What really matters, however, is the omission of any reference to God: after "equal" it should read, "that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…." Some are blaming the president for this error, but it is his speech writers, and those who vetted his address, who are to blame. The prepared remarks, as released by the White House, omit the word "Creator." Since this got by so many in the White House, it makes us wonder whether only incompetence was at work. While Obama may be given a pass, it is striking nonetheless that this omission got by a former constitutional law professor. There are four references to God in the Declaration. God is the author of the "laws of nature and nature's God"; he is the "Creator" who "endowed" us with "unalienable rights"; he is "the Supreme Judge of the world"; and he provides "the protection of Divine Providence." As a former professor of political science, I made sure my students understood this, but evidently none of those who write or vet the president's speeches learned this in college. They should pay more attention, especially given the suspicion that Obama likes his religion lite.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I have ceased answering vitriols on the other sites
Those on the other Topix sites that I still post on, but ceased reading, or answering ,are probably still attacking my posts. Too bad, so sad. I am feeling very good, and my spirit is feeling great since "ignore", has been in place at those sites. I will not post their names, as they are insignificant, and only attack the posters that are catholics, and Conservatives, never the substance of the post.
All of you conservatives, both of the catholic religion, and in politics, get out and help change what the liberals are doing to our religion, and country. Even if you give one hour a week on the telephone, or stuff envelopes, you will be doing your part. Just this week I have gotten 4 people to register as Republicans, and that was in just one hour. All of the lives of those that have protected us, and our country, thank you. If nothing else, make sure that those that have ignored our voices, hear them loud and clear in November.
God bless you all
All of you conservatives, both of the catholic religion, and in politics, get out and help change what the liberals are doing to our religion, and country. Even if you give one hour a week on the telephone, or stuff envelopes, you will be doing your part. Just this week I have gotten 4 people to register as Republicans, and that was in just one hour. All of the lives of those that have protected us, and our country, thank you. If nothing else, make sure that those that have ignored our voices, hear them loud and clear in November.
God bless you all
Obuma, has awakened the moral majority voter, and the great senior voters.
Grim outlook for Democrats puts House up for grabs
WASHINGTON – Their control of the House in peril, Democrats are scratching to survive in races all across the country. Disgruntled voters, a sluggish economy and vanishing enthusiasm for President Barack Obama have put 75 seats or more — the vast majority held by Democrats — at risk of changing hands.
The party could become a victim of its own successes during the past two elections, when candidates were swept into power by antipathy for President George W. Bush and ardor for Obama. Now, eight weeks from Election Day, the Democrats are bracing for the virtual certainty of lost House seats and scrambling to hold back a wave that could hand the GOP the 40 it needs to command a majority
Obama, grasping for a way to turn the tide, on Wednesday plans to propose $30 billion in new investment tax breaks for businesses to go along with tens of billions in spending he called for on Labor Day to invigorate the slow recovery. But even if Congress acts on the requests — a long shot in a highly charged political season — there's little time left for Democrats to salvage their election chances.
With Obama's popularity slumping and the party demoralized, dozens of first- and second-term Democrats as well as longer-serving congressmen who haven't faced serious challenges in years are toiling to hold onto their jobs in places that tend to prefer Republicans. And polls show independent voters leaning toward the GOP.
When asked which party they want to control Congress, voters are split or leaning toward Republicans, national surveys say. Perhaps even more ominously for Democrats, voters are overwhelmingly sour about national issues, especially the economy.
More than 60 percent said the nation was in a state of decline and on the wrong track in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, in which voters likely to turn out in November gave Republicans a gaping 9-point edge when asked which party they wanted to control Congress.
Much can change between now and Election Day, and a GOP House takeover is far from sure.
And most voters have yet to focus on the contests.
Still, Republicans are confidently predicting Democrats' defeat.
"Republicans have the intensity," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., head recruiter for House GOP candidates. "The map is growing by the day."
Democrats acknowledge the strong headwinds but counter that, with a solid fundraising advantage over Republicans and years worth of preparation for what they always knew would be a brutal election.
The current breakdown is 255 Democrats, 178 Republicans and two vacancies that appear likely to be won by the GOP.
Democratic incumbents are at risk from California to New York and particularly in the unemployment-stricken Rust Belt, where six in Pennsylvania and five in Ohio face stiff challenges, including in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Indiana, and two in Alabama, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Virginia.
Among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents are freshmen Reps. Betsy Markey of Colorado, Steve Driehaus of Ohio and Tom Perriello of Virginia.
At the same time, a handful of influential, senior Democrats — including Missouri's Ike Skelton, the chair of the Armed Services Committee, and South Carolinian John Spratt, the Budget chairman — are facing formidable re-election battles.
Reps. Allen Boyd of Florida and Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota — and Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania and Chet Edwards of Texas — veterans of 20 years or more — also face tough fights.
And Democrats are facing tight races to hang on to most of the 20 seats where the incumbent retired, left or is pursuing another office — typically the most difficult for a party to defend. Those include two each in Arkansas and Tennessee, and long-shots in Louisiana, Kansas and upstate New York, where Rep. Eric Massa resigned in March amid an investigation into whether he sexually harassed male staffers.
WASHINGTON – Their control of the House in peril, Democrats are scratching to survive in races all across the country. Disgruntled voters, a sluggish economy and vanishing enthusiasm for President Barack Obama have put 75 seats or more — the vast majority held by Democrats — at risk of changing hands.
The party could become a victim of its own successes during the past two elections, when candidates were swept into power by antipathy for President George W. Bush and ardor for Obama. Now, eight weeks from Election Day, the Democrats are bracing for the virtual certainty of lost House seats and scrambling to hold back a wave that could hand the GOP the 40 it needs to command a majority
Obama, grasping for a way to turn the tide, on Wednesday plans to propose $30 billion in new investment tax breaks for businesses to go along with tens of billions in spending he called for on Labor Day to invigorate the slow recovery. But even if Congress acts on the requests — a long shot in a highly charged political season — there's little time left for Democrats to salvage their election chances.
With Obama's popularity slumping and the party demoralized, dozens of first- and second-term Democrats as well as longer-serving congressmen who haven't faced serious challenges in years are toiling to hold onto their jobs in places that tend to prefer Republicans. And polls show independent voters leaning toward the GOP.
When asked which party they want to control Congress, voters are split or leaning toward Republicans, national surveys say. Perhaps even more ominously for Democrats, voters are overwhelmingly sour about national issues, especially the economy.
More than 60 percent said the nation was in a state of decline and on the wrong track in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, in which voters likely to turn out in November gave Republicans a gaping 9-point edge when asked which party they wanted to control Congress.
Much can change between now and Election Day, and a GOP House takeover is far from sure.
And most voters have yet to focus on the contests.
Still, Republicans are confidently predicting Democrats' defeat.
"Republicans have the intensity," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., head recruiter for House GOP candidates. "The map is growing by the day."
Democrats acknowledge the strong headwinds but counter that, with a solid fundraising advantage over Republicans and years worth of preparation for what they always knew would be a brutal election.
The current breakdown is 255 Democrats, 178 Republicans and two vacancies that appear likely to be won by the GOP.
Democratic incumbents are at risk from California to New York and particularly in the unemployment-stricken Rust Belt, where six in Pennsylvania and five in Ohio face stiff challenges, including in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Indiana, and two in Alabama, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Virginia.
Among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents are freshmen Reps. Betsy Markey of Colorado, Steve Driehaus of Ohio and Tom Perriello of Virginia.
At the same time, a handful of influential, senior Democrats — including Missouri's Ike Skelton, the chair of the Armed Services Committee, and South Carolinian John Spratt, the Budget chairman — are facing formidable re-election battles.
Reps. Allen Boyd of Florida and Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota — and Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania and Chet Edwards of Texas — veterans of 20 years or more — also face tough fights.
And Democrats are facing tight races to hang on to most of the 20 seats where the incumbent retired, left or is pursuing another office — typically the most difficult for a party to defend. Those include two each in Arkansas and Tennessee, and long-shots in Louisiana, Kansas and upstate New York, where Rep. Eric Massa resigned in March amid an investigation into whether he sexually harassed male staffers.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
More Gore/Obama garbage, that should never be recycled
So....following pretty hard evidence (a few short months ago) that Global Warming is based more on fiction than fact.....morons across the country have instituted using computer chips to monitor how efficiently Americans are recycling their garbage – by, get this: hiding MICROCHIPS on recycling pails! Where will the lunacy end? This country is turning into a lame version of the USSR, circa 1976, with the Obama Black House being the Kremlin. How long will it take before Mayor Buttberg has these on the streets of NYC?? Can you even believe this:
Cities Increasingly Turn to 'Trash Police' to Enforce Recycling Laws
By John Brandon
Published September 08, 2010 | FoxNews.com
They don't carry guns and there's no police academy to train them, but if you don't recycle your trash properly, they can walk up your driveway and give you a $100 ticket.
They know what's in your trash, they know what you eat, they know how often you bring your recycles to the curb -- and they may be coming to your town soon. That is, if they're not already there.
In a growing number of cities across the U.S., local governments are placing computer chips in recycling bins to collect data on refuse disposal, and then fining residents who don't participate in recycling efforts and forcing others into educational programs meant to instill respect for the environment.
From Charlotte, N.C., to Cleveland, Ohio, from Boise, Idaho, to Flint, Mich., the green police are spreading out. And that alarms some privacy advocates who are asking: Should local governments have the right to monitor how you divide your paper cups from your plastic forks? Is that really the role of government?
In Dayton, Ohio, chips placed in recycle bins transmit information to garbage trucks to keep track of whether residents are recycling -- a program that incensed Arizona Sen. John McCain, who pointed out that the city was awarded half a million dollars in stimulus money for it.
Harry Lewis, a computer science professor at Harvard University and a noted privacy expert, cried foul about the "spy chips," which are already in use in several cities and are often funded by government stimulus programs. He noted that cattle farmers use the same chips to tell if Betsy the Cow has generated her milk quota for the day.
"It's treating people like cattle!" Lewis cried. Are people "supposed to produce recyclable waste, rather than certain quantities of milk"? What, he asked, happens if you don't generate enough?
But there's a clear upside to the technology, said Michael Kanellos, editor in chief of GreenTech Media.
"By tagging bins, haulers can weigh garbage, and weighing brings accountability. Consumers that diligently recycle will likely become eligible for rebates in some jurisdictions," he wrote recently. "Conversely, those who throw away excessive amounts of trash may face steeper tariffs in the future ... recycling, meanwhile, will go from being something that gives the consumer peace of mind to a way to reduce household bills."
Best and worse case scenarios
Dayton City Manager Thomas Ritchie said the city is using the chips to aid marketing campaigns, not to punish uncooperative citizens. "The data will be used to identify which residents participate in the recycling program, at what rate do they participate and the average weight of each participant’s recycling," he said.
Charlotte, N.C., also uses trash tags, and it gathers similar information. City spokeswoman Charita Curtis said the city uses the data from the tags -- low-power radio frequency IDs (RFIDs) -- to find which areas aren't recycling as often and to start education initiatives there. The data is not shared outside of the city, she stressed, and it's not used to track down specific residents. The RFID program is also voluntary.
“We can do targeted recycling education for areas with low participation, providing information on how to recycle, what can be recycled, the importance of recycling to encourage more recycling participation,” Curtis said. “Some residents may not participate simply because they don't know how to and we'd provide that education in hopes that they start recycling or recycle more.”
But there's no volunteering in Cleveland, where the trash police can fine you $100 for not recycling.
Cleveland will run reports on who fails to recycle consistently, and then it will send out the green cops, waste collection commissioner Ronnie Owens told ABC News.
In late August, Cleveland's city council voted to roll out the tags to 25,000 residents, and it may extend the program to the entire city. It costs $30 per ton to haul away trash, but the city gets paid $26 per ton to recycle it. The program should generate about $170,000 annually in revenue for the city, the Washington Times reported.
But the new equipment and bins cost $2.5 million, so it will take about 15 years to recoup the costs of deploying the technology. Cleveland officials did not immediately respond to requests for more information, but reports indicate that officials will know when you bring your trash to the curb -- and may go through your trash to ensure you're recycling properly.
Right to trash privacy
Privacy experts, meanwhile, are up in arms about how these chips are being used to collect data.
Lewis said Cleveland residents need to ask whether sacrificing their privacy -- having the government snoop through their trash -- is worth the environmental benefit. If not, he said, they should start a referendum to overthrow the ruling. Part of the issue, he said, is that the system is easy to fool: A neighbor, he said, might dump your recycling into his bin to avoid fines.
The trash police could unfairly give the worst citizens a pass, Lewis added. He warned that those generating the most waste by using bottled water instead of tap water (plastic water bottles are a major source of trash) could earn credits for recycling all those wasteful bottles -- a reward for a poor choice, in other words.
Mari Frank, a privacy expert and attorney, questioned the openness of the data. "It clearly looks like the reason for the RFID is to collect money, but the privacy issues are paramount," she said.
"I believe these RFIDs are using technology to violate our Fourth Amendment rights of search and seizure," she said. "The community should have the right to informed consent."
What comes next?
Lewis says the solution lies in improving education and awareness, not punishment. He said economic incentives work for recycling -- getting money back for aluminum cans and newspapers is a proven tactic.
Frank was skeptical about the future potential exploitation of the RFID trash collection data, and questioned whether the next step might be to attach a GPS receiver to bins to see where residents put them and how they are used. Lewis wondered whether a city might use trash collection data for other, more invasive purposes.
"If the government wanted to know our drinking habits by neighborhood or household -- purely for 'public health reasons,' of course -- it could mandate RFIDs on liquor bottles and reprogram the scanners to collect data on where the most vodka is being consumed," he said.
"And it's not just the government either. Suppose a major distiller went to your town and offered to pay to collect data about who was throwing out which kinds of bottles. They might be prepared to chip the bottles without being told they had to -- and your town might be able to use the new revenue source to hold down its tax rate."
Cities Increasingly Turn to 'Trash Police' to Enforce Recycling Laws
By John Brandon
Published September 08, 2010 | FoxNews.com
They don't carry guns and there's no police academy to train them, but if you don't recycle your trash properly, they can walk up your driveway and give you a $100 ticket.
They know what's in your trash, they know what you eat, they know how often you bring your recycles to the curb -- and they may be coming to your town soon. That is, if they're not already there.
In a growing number of cities across the U.S., local governments are placing computer chips in recycling bins to collect data on refuse disposal, and then fining residents who don't participate in recycling efforts and forcing others into educational programs meant to instill respect for the environment.
From Charlotte, N.C., to Cleveland, Ohio, from Boise, Idaho, to Flint, Mich., the green police are spreading out. And that alarms some privacy advocates who are asking: Should local governments have the right to monitor how you divide your paper cups from your plastic forks? Is that really the role of government?
In Dayton, Ohio, chips placed in recycle bins transmit information to garbage trucks to keep track of whether residents are recycling -- a program that incensed Arizona Sen. John McCain, who pointed out that the city was awarded half a million dollars in stimulus money for it.
Harry Lewis, a computer science professor at Harvard University and a noted privacy expert, cried foul about the "spy chips," which are already in use in several cities and are often funded by government stimulus programs. He noted that cattle farmers use the same chips to tell if Betsy the Cow has generated her milk quota for the day.
"It's treating people like cattle!" Lewis cried. Are people "supposed to produce recyclable waste, rather than certain quantities of milk"? What, he asked, happens if you don't generate enough?
But there's a clear upside to the technology, said Michael Kanellos, editor in chief of GreenTech Media.
"By tagging bins, haulers can weigh garbage, and weighing brings accountability. Consumers that diligently recycle will likely become eligible for rebates in some jurisdictions," he wrote recently. "Conversely, those who throw away excessive amounts of trash may face steeper tariffs in the future ... recycling, meanwhile, will go from being something that gives the consumer peace of mind to a way to reduce household bills."
Best and worse case scenarios
Dayton City Manager Thomas Ritchie said the city is using the chips to aid marketing campaigns, not to punish uncooperative citizens. "The data will be used to identify which residents participate in the recycling program, at what rate do they participate and the average weight of each participant’s recycling," he said.
Charlotte, N.C., also uses trash tags, and it gathers similar information. City spokeswoman Charita Curtis said the city uses the data from the tags -- low-power radio frequency IDs (RFIDs) -- to find which areas aren't recycling as often and to start education initiatives there. The data is not shared outside of the city, she stressed, and it's not used to track down specific residents. The RFID program is also voluntary.
“We can do targeted recycling education for areas with low participation, providing information on how to recycle, what can be recycled, the importance of recycling to encourage more recycling participation,” Curtis said. “Some residents may not participate simply because they don't know how to and we'd provide that education in hopes that they start recycling or recycle more.”
But there's no volunteering in Cleveland, where the trash police can fine you $100 for not recycling.
Cleveland will run reports on who fails to recycle consistently, and then it will send out the green cops, waste collection commissioner Ronnie Owens told ABC News.
In late August, Cleveland's city council voted to roll out the tags to 25,000 residents, and it may extend the program to the entire city. It costs $30 per ton to haul away trash, but the city gets paid $26 per ton to recycle it. The program should generate about $170,000 annually in revenue for the city, the Washington Times reported.
But the new equipment and bins cost $2.5 million, so it will take about 15 years to recoup the costs of deploying the technology. Cleveland officials did not immediately respond to requests for more information, but reports indicate that officials will know when you bring your trash to the curb -- and may go through your trash to ensure you're recycling properly.
Right to trash privacy
Privacy experts, meanwhile, are up in arms about how these chips are being used to collect data.
Lewis said Cleveland residents need to ask whether sacrificing their privacy -- having the government snoop through their trash -- is worth the environmental benefit. If not, he said, they should start a referendum to overthrow the ruling. Part of the issue, he said, is that the system is easy to fool: A neighbor, he said, might dump your recycling into his bin to avoid fines.
The trash police could unfairly give the worst citizens a pass, Lewis added. He warned that those generating the most waste by using bottled water instead of tap water (plastic water bottles are a major source of trash) could earn credits for recycling all those wasteful bottles -- a reward for a poor choice, in other words.
Mari Frank, a privacy expert and attorney, questioned the openness of the data. "It clearly looks like the reason for the RFID is to collect money, but the privacy issues are paramount," she said.
"I believe these RFIDs are using technology to violate our Fourth Amendment rights of search and seizure," she said. "The community should have the right to informed consent."
What comes next?
Lewis says the solution lies in improving education and awareness, not punishment. He said economic incentives work for recycling -- getting money back for aluminum cans and newspapers is a proven tactic.
Frank was skeptical about the future potential exploitation of the RFID trash collection data, and questioned whether the next step might be to attach a GPS receiver to bins to see where residents put them and how they are used. Lewis wondered whether a city might use trash collection data for other, more invasive purposes.
"If the government wanted to know our drinking habits by neighborhood or household -- purely for 'public health reasons,' of course -- it could mandate RFIDs on liquor bottles and reprogram the scanners to collect data on where the most vodka is being consumed," he said.
"And it's not just the government either. Suppose a major distiller went to your town and offered to pay to collect data about who was throwing out which kinds of bottles. They might be prepared to chip the bottles without being told they had to -- and your town might be able to use the new revenue source to hold down its tax rate."
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Modernism and its falseness
Slowly but surely the "Spirit of Vatican II" is plodding toward a slow death. Oh, it's not going quietly; it still has a legion of "followers", but the outcome is inevitable. The Pope is doing his part, but so are the enlistees in the Church Militant. Tom Roeser has a good post, mostly concerning one of those Militants, Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV:
Vital Immanence
However, this Agnosticism is only the negative part of the system of the Modernist: the positive side of it consists in what they call vital immanence. This is how they advance from one to the other. Religion, whether natural or supernatural, must, like every other fact, admit of some explanation. But when Natural theology has been destroyed, the road to revelation closed through the rejection of the arguments of credibility, and all external revelation absolutely denied, it is clear that this explanation will be sought in vain outside man himself. It must, therefore, be looked for in man; and since religion is a form of life, the explanation must certainly be found in the life of man. Hence the principle of religious immanence is formulated. Moreover, the first actuation, so to say, of every vital phenomenon, and religion, as has been said, belongs to this category, is due to a certain necessity or impulsion; but it has its origin, speaking more particularly of life, in a movement of the heart, which movement is called a sentiment. Therefore, since God is the object of religion, we must conclude that faith, which is the basis and the foundation of all religion, consists in a sentiment which originates from a need of the divine. This need of the divine, which is experienced only in special and favourable circumstances, cannot, of itself, appertain to the domain of consciousness; it is at first latent within the consciousness, or, to borrow a term from modern philosophy, in the subconsciousness, where also its roots lies hidden and undetected.
Should anyone ask how it is that this need of the divine which man experiences within himself grows up into a religion, the Modernists reply thus: Science and history, they say, are confined within two limits, the one external, namely, the visible world, the other internal, which is consciousness. When one or other of these boundaries has been reached, there can be no further progress, for beyond is the unknowable. In presence of this unknowable, whether it is outside man and beyond the visible world of nature, or lies hidden within in the subconsciousness, the need of the divine, according to the principles of Fideism, excites in a soul with a propensity towards religion a certain special sentiment, without any previous advertence of the mind: and this sentiment possesses, implied within itself both as its own object and as its intrinsic cause, the reality of the divine, and in a way unites man with God. It is this sentiment to which Modernists give the name of faith, and this it is which they consider the beginning of religion.
But we have not yet come to the end of their philosophy, or, to speak more accurately, their folly. For Modernism finds in this sentiment not faith only, but with and in faith, as they understand it, revelation, they say, abides. For what more can one require for revelation? Is not that religious sentiment which is perceptible in the consciousness revelation, or at least the beginning of revelation? Nay, is not God Himself, as He manifests Himself to the soul, indistinctly it is true, in this same religious sense, revelation? And they add: Since God is both the object and the cause of faith, this revelation is at the same time of God and from God; that is, God is both the revealer and the revealed.
Hence, Venerable Brethren, springs that ridiculous proposition of the Modernists, that every religion, according to the different aspect under which it is viewed, must be considered as both natural and supernatural. Hence it is that they make consciousness and revelation synonymous. Hence the law, according to which religious consciousness is given as the universal rule, to be put on an equal footing with revelation, and to which all must submit, even the supreme authority of the Church, whether in its teaching capacity, or in that of legislator in the province of sacred liturgy or discipline.
Therefore the religious sentiment, which through the agency of vital immanence emerges from the lurking places of the subconsciousness, is the germ of all religion, and the explanation of everything that has been or ever will be in any religion. The sentiment, which was at first only rudimentary and almost formless, gradually matured, under the influence of that mysterious principle from which it originated, with the progress of human life, of which, as has been said, it is a form. This, then, is the origin of all religion, even supernatural religion; it is only a development of this religious sentiment. Nor is the Catholic religion an exception; it is quite on a level with the rest; for it was engendered, by the process of vital immanence, in the consciousness of Christ, who was a man of the choicest nature, whose like has never been, nor will be.- Those who hear these audacious, these sacrilegious assertions, are simply shocked! And yet, Venerable Brethren, these are not merely the foolish babblings of infidels. There are many Catholics, yea, and priests too, who say these things openly; and they boast that they are going to reform the Church by these ravings! There is no question now of the old error, by which a sort of right to the supernatural order was claimed for the human nature. We have gone far beyond that: we have reached the point when it is affirmed that our most holy religion, in the man Christ as in us, emanated from nature spontaneously and entirely. Than this there is surely nothing more destructive of the whole supernatural order. Wherefore the Vatican Council most justly decreed: "If anyone says that man cannot be raised by God to a knowledge and perfection which surpasses nature, but that he can and should, by his own efforts and by a constant development, attain finally to the possession of all truth and good, let him be anathema" (De Revel., can. 3).
Vital Immanence
However, this Agnosticism is only the negative part of the system of the Modernist: the positive side of it consists in what they call vital immanence. This is how they advance from one to the other. Religion, whether natural or supernatural, must, like every other fact, admit of some explanation. But when Natural theology has been destroyed, the road to revelation closed through the rejection of the arguments of credibility, and all external revelation absolutely denied, it is clear that this explanation will be sought in vain outside man himself. It must, therefore, be looked for in man; and since religion is a form of life, the explanation must certainly be found in the life of man. Hence the principle of religious immanence is formulated. Moreover, the first actuation, so to say, of every vital phenomenon, and religion, as has been said, belongs to this category, is due to a certain necessity or impulsion; but it has its origin, speaking more particularly of life, in a movement of the heart, which movement is called a sentiment. Therefore, since God is the object of religion, we must conclude that faith, which is the basis and the foundation of all religion, consists in a sentiment which originates from a need of the divine. This need of the divine, which is experienced only in special and favourable circumstances, cannot, of itself, appertain to the domain of consciousness; it is at first latent within the consciousness, or, to borrow a term from modern philosophy, in the subconsciousness, where also its roots lies hidden and undetected.
Should anyone ask how it is that this need of the divine which man experiences within himself grows up into a religion, the Modernists reply thus: Science and history, they say, are confined within two limits, the one external, namely, the visible world, the other internal, which is consciousness. When one or other of these boundaries has been reached, there can be no further progress, for beyond is the unknowable. In presence of this unknowable, whether it is outside man and beyond the visible world of nature, or lies hidden within in the subconsciousness, the need of the divine, according to the principles of Fideism, excites in a soul with a propensity towards religion a certain special sentiment, without any previous advertence of the mind: and this sentiment possesses, implied within itself both as its own object and as its intrinsic cause, the reality of the divine, and in a way unites man with God. It is this sentiment to which Modernists give the name of faith, and this it is which they consider the beginning of religion.
But we have not yet come to the end of their philosophy, or, to speak more accurately, their folly. For Modernism finds in this sentiment not faith only, but with and in faith, as they understand it, revelation, they say, abides. For what more can one require for revelation? Is not that religious sentiment which is perceptible in the consciousness revelation, or at least the beginning of revelation? Nay, is not God Himself, as He manifests Himself to the soul, indistinctly it is true, in this same religious sense, revelation? And they add: Since God is both the object and the cause of faith, this revelation is at the same time of God and from God; that is, God is both the revealer and the revealed.
Hence, Venerable Brethren, springs that ridiculous proposition of the Modernists, that every religion, according to the different aspect under which it is viewed, must be considered as both natural and supernatural. Hence it is that they make consciousness and revelation synonymous. Hence the law, according to which religious consciousness is given as the universal rule, to be put on an equal footing with revelation, and to which all must submit, even the supreme authority of the Church, whether in its teaching capacity, or in that of legislator in the province of sacred liturgy or discipline.
Therefore the religious sentiment, which through the agency of vital immanence emerges from the lurking places of the subconsciousness, is the germ of all religion, and the explanation of everything that has been or ever will be in any religion. The sentiment, which was at first only rudimentary and almost formless, gradually matured, under the influence of that mysterious principle from which it originated, with the progress of human life, of which, as has been said, it is a form. This, then, is the origin of all religion, even supernatural religion; it is only a development of this religious sentiment. Nor is the Catholic religion an exception; it is quite on a level with the rest; for it was engendered, by the process of vital immanence, in the consciousness of Christ, who was a man of the choicest nature, whose like has never been, nor will be.- Those who hear these audacious, these sacrilegious assertions, are simply shocked! And yet, Venerable Brethren, these are not merely the foolish babblings of infidels. There are many Catholics, yea, and priests too, who say these things openly; and they boast that they are going to reform the Church by these ravings! There is no question now of the old error, by which a sort of right to the supernatural order was claimed for the human nature. We have gone far beyond that: we have reached the point when it is affirmed that our most holy religion, in the man Christ as in us, emanated from nature spontaneously and entirely. Than this there is surely nothing more destructive of the whole supernatural order. Wherefore the Vatican Council most justly decreed: "If anyone says that man cannot be raised by God to a knowledge and perfection which surpasses nature, but that he can and should, by his own efforts and by a constant development, attain finally to the possession of all truth and good, let him be anathema" (De Revel., can. 3).
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