Rev. Eugene Rivers told the Boston Globe that it was inevitable that Sen. and Mrs. Obama would leave TUCC. I agree, though I suspect for different reasons. Here’s what Rev. Rivers said:

Rivers said on MSNBC that it must have been a “very difficult, heartwrenching decision” for Obama, who announced over the weekend that he and his wife Michelle are leaving Trinity United Church of Christ, where he became a Christian, where they were married, and where their two daughters were baptized.

“It was inevitable given the current political context,” said Rivers, who has added his commentary to many of the religious controversies this presidential campaign.

I agree with Rev. Rivers that it must’ve been a “very difficult, heartwrenching decision.” What I don’t get is what “the current political context” had to do with Sen. and Mrs. Obama leaving. They shouldn’t have stayed there in the first place, regardless of the current political context. Rev. Rivers doesn’t explain why politics should play a role in choosing a church. The fact that it was a consideration speaks loudly about the Obamas’ decisionmaking process.

Technorati Tags: Eugene Rivers, Obama, TUCC, Michelle Obama, Chicago Politics, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

If you read Sen. Obama’s quotes in this Politico.com article, you’d swear that the only reason he left TUCC is for the shut-ins. here’s a specific quote I’m referring to:

Obama said he also regrets “all the attention that my campaign has visited on” the church.

“We had reporters grabbing church bulletins and calling up the sick and the shut-in,” he said. “That’s just not how people should have to operate in their church.

Puhleeze. Sen. Obama left TUCC because it was the only viable political option after Father Michael Pfleger unleashed a racist diatribe against Hillary that would’ve made Jeremiah Wright proud. It’s insulting to hear Obama spin his leaving TUCC as anything other than politically expedient. This wasn’t a profile in courage. This wasn’t proof of Obama being the post-racial, post-partisan politician. This was Obama being who he really is: a typical Chicago machine politician that had the misfortune of living in the YouTube era. (continue reading post »)

The Hill magazine is reporting that Sen. Obama has left the church he vigorously defended just 3 short months ago. Here’s what they’re saying:

Democratic front runner Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), weathering the storm from another controversial pastor, resigned from his church Saturday.

The senator is leaving Trinity United Church of Christ after remarks made by Father Michael Pfleger surfaced last week showing the Catholic priest mocking Obama’s rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

Earlier this year, Obama was hurt by inflammatory remarks made by his longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and his handling of the controversy.

My question is simple: What’s Sen. Obama’s motivation for leaving TUCC? To the unbiased observer, it appears as though he’s essentially leaving for political considerations. Shame on him for that.

Here’s another question national journalists aren’t asking: Why didn’t Sen. Obama leave when he saw his fellow congregants dancing and applauding during Jeremiah Wright’s racist sermons? A truly post-racial, postpartisan politician would’ve left long before the YouTube videos appeared. That’s allegedly what drove Oprah from TUCC.

Why should we believe that Sen. Obama is a post-racial, postpartisan politician? What proof do we have that verifies his claims? I’d suggest that they don’t exist. I’d further suggest that a truly post-racial, postpartisan politician wouldn’t have stayed at TUCC for essentially political reasons.

Sen. Obama only got upset with Jeremiah Wright when Wright embarrassed him at the National Press Club. That tells me that Sen. Obama didn’t take offense with Jeremiah Wright’s words until they were directed at him. After all, churches are one of the places where you ‘vote with your feet’. In that instance, words don’t mean much.

Obviously, Sen. Obama’s apologists in the national media will say that this proves Sen. Obama is beyond partisanship.

Quite he contrary. He’s proven that it’s all about politics with him.

Technorati Tags: Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Michael Pfleger, Hillary, TUCC, Partisanship, Oprah, Racism, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

As is always the case, there’s more to the Obama case than meets the eye. I just found a post where Pastor Michael Pfleger invited Louis Farrakhan to speak at his church last year.

Last week the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan spoke at The Faith Community of St. Sabina, which is pastored by Father Michael Pfleger. The May 25 speech was Min. Farrakhan’s first time speaking publicly since Mother’s Day.

This was great to see because it brought two of my favorite people together. Minister Farrakhan who was on his death bed from cancer last year, reportedly spoke for an hour at St. Sabina and in a powerful way. Pfleger spent many hours with Min. Farrakhan during his illness.

Father Pfleger and Min. Farrakhan have shared an long friendship as they both have labored to uplift the African-American community in Chicago and throughout the country. Anyone who actually listens to the Minister as opposed to relying on sound bites knows that if his heart has any hatred, it’s a hatred of evil and injustice. The Muslim minister and Catholic priest know that what matters most is doing God’s work, especially for the least of these, my brethren.

This begs the question of what Sen. Obama really thinks about Louis Farrakhan. Here’s what he recently said about Farrakhan:

“I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan,” Obama said in a statement released by his aides. “I assume that Trumpet Magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree.”

How is it then that his church of 20 years has honored Farrakhan? How is it that someone who’s preached at his church admires Farrakhan enough to invite him to preach at his church? What are Sen. Obama’s true beliefs about Farrakhan? I’m not convinced that we know yet. I’m not certain we ever will.

Israpundit has a great collection of who Michael Pfleger is. You’ll want to read it.

Technorati Tags: Obama, Louis Farrakhan, Michael Pfleger, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

When the Jeremiah Wright tapes appeared, Sen. Obama said that the sermons didn’t “reflect his views.” Now another nutty priest said some extremely offensive things, the crowds still cheered and Obama issues another apology.

It’s becoming obvious that TUCC is an extremely racist church. It’s getting increasingly difficult to believe that Sen. Obama isn’t at least tolerant of this type of behavior because he still hasn’t moved.

What’s also apparent is that TUCC isn’t a theological church in the traditional sense. It’s a political church. Back in the glory days of the Boston Bruins-Philadelphia Flyers rivalry, sportswriters would say that they went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out. It’s becoming clear that those same sportswriters would write that they attended a political rally at TUCC and a church service broke out. (continue reading post »)

About six weeks ago, Kathy Kersten reported on TiZA, which was masquerading as a charter school. Now the Minnesota Dept. of Education has weighed in on what’s actually happening at the school. Here’s what the DoE’s report says:

Most of the school’s operations follow state charter school law and federal guidelines on prayer in schools, but the department found two areas of concern, said Morgan Brown, an assistant commissioner with the department.

School director Asad Zaman said he takes the state’s concerns seriously and will address them as soon as possible. He also took the report as vindication, saying: “I now have proof that this is not a religious school.”

But the report said the school may be violating the law by allowing voluntary Friday prayers that most students attend to take place on school grounds. Those 30-minute prayers take up so much time that they may be a burden to non-praying students, and could mean the school isn’t teaching students for as many hours a year as the state requires. Letting teachers participate, even though they don’t lead prayers, may give students the impression that the school endorses Islam.

Imam Zaman is spinning things when he said that he has “proof that this is not a religious school.” The DoE says otherwise when it says that the “school may be violating the law by allowing voluntary Friday prayers.” The DoE saying that letting “teachers participate…may give students the impression that the school endorses Islam.” (continue reading post »)

This hasn’t been a good week for Barack Obama. His week took a downturn when he got defensive when he heard something that wasn’t said. Now he’s saying that his impending loss in Kentucky is all Fox News’ fault. All this happened after he lost West Virginia’s primary by 40 points. His accusations of FNC are bizarre. Here’s what he said about them:

“Part of it is because there have been these e-mails that have been sent out very systematically, presumably by various political opponents, although I don’t know who,” he said. “And there are a lot of voters who get their news from Fox News. Fox has been pumping up rumors about my religious beliefs or my patriotism or what have you since the beginning of the campaign.”

If Fox was actually starting rumors about him, shouldn’t he be able to cite them and refute the specific rumors? It’s like hearing John Murtha tell Charlie Gibson that he knew “there was a coverup somewhere” regarding the Haditha Marines.

The insulting thing about Sen. Obama saying that “there are alot of voters who get their news from Fox News” is that it insinuates that “alot of voters” are easily bamboozled. It’s like saying that “they can’t help it that they’re gullible enough to trust Fox News.”

This plays into Sen. Obama’s elitist image, too. Sen. Obama obviously doesn’t trust people. If he did, he’d believe that they can filter out the things that aren’t accurate. Here’s the opening paragraphs to the McClatchy article:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, facing a likely defeat in next Tuesday’s primary election, won’t travel to Kentucky before the voting, but said he hopes to have much more time to win over Kentucky voters before the November general election.

He also blamed Fox News for disseminating “rumors” about him and said that that and e-mails filled with misinformation that have been “systematically” dispersed have hurt him in Kentucky.

I can’t blame him for not telling the truth in this. he can’t outright say that he can’t connect with rural voters right now. If he did, this election would be over.

Still, it’s a bit aggravating to hear him blame others for his inability to win over voters. His whining won’t play well, either. I’d doubt that voters want a whiner as their president. He’s running to be the next leader of the free world.

Ronald Reagan faced a hostile press during his campaign and his administration. He didn’t break stride, just taking his message straight to the people. By comparison, Sen. Obama starts whining about the press, specifically Fox News, for not giving him a cakewalk.

Shouldn’t we ignore Sen. Obama if he isn’t willing to cite specifics what rumors Fox is allegedly spreading? After all, allegations aren’t proof.

Technorati Tags: Fox News, Obama, Rumor-mongering, Ronald Reagan, Appeasement, Media Bias

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

Now that the North Carolina GOP advertisement is the latest buzz, John McCain weighed in against the ad. That’s a shame. He should’ve said he didn’t agree with it but that it’s the NCGOP’s call on whether they should run it. Instead of doing that, he tried lecturing Republicans:

McCain called the ad “offensive” and said it “degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with the Democrats.”

“From the beginning of this election, I have been committed to running a respectful campaign based upon an honest debate about the great issues confronting America today. I expect all state parties to do so as well,” McCain wrote in an e-mail to Daves, asking her to pull the ad.

Sorry, Sen. McCain, but this isn’t part of your business. If the North Carolina GOP wants to tie Rev. Wright to Democratic gubernatorial candidates, then they should do so without getting lectured by an outsider, even if that outsider is the GOP presidential nominee. PERIOD.

I’d further ask Sen. McCain what he finds offensive about the ad. The fact that it’s causing Sen. Obama grief tells me that it’s worth running. I’d also suggest that the Pastor J-Wright issue is important to alot of people. Just because John McCain doesn’t want to hit Obama hard on the character issue doesn’t mean that those issues are off limits. I suspect that the North Carolina GOP is attempting to put the Democrats’ candidates for governor on the defensive for endorsing Sen. Obama. I suspect that they’re trying to say that his judgment isn’t solid and that these candidates have exercised poor judgment in endorsing him.

I also suspect that this ad is having great effect in North Carolina because it’s a solidly red state. Pastor J-Wright’s anti-American diatribes won’t sit well with North Carolina voters.

That’s fair game as far as I’m concerned.

Technorati Tags: John McCain, RNC, North Carolina GOP, Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

NRO’s Andrew McCarthy column introduces America to the Barack Obama that’s kept tucked in the closet.The picture he paints with Obama’s decisions isn’t pretty. The first glimpse into Sen. Obama’s beliefs is through his wife Michelle:

After four years at one of America’s most esteemed academic institutions, Michelle recoiled at the thought of “further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant.” That the sky has been the limit for her, that she has managed to ride the “periphery” from Princeton to Harvard Law School, to one of the country’s top law firms, and to a plethora of prestigious institutional positions, has not much altered her perspective. Through the windows of her mansion on Chicago’s south side, American society still appears as a caste system.

The first question that I’d ask Michelle Obama would be about the belief system that’s required to ignore the realities that she’s ignored. She’s lived in a world that few are privileged to enter yet she’s utterly jaded. Why? What justification does she have for maintaining that mindset? It’s downright scary that a woman of that much privilege can think that way.

As scary as that is, it pales in comparison to Jeremiah Wright. Sen. Obama once called Pastor J-Wright his spiritual mentor. We also learned that Pastor J-Wright believed in something called Black Theology. Here’s the heart of Black Theology:

Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community…Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.

As an evangelical Christian, I’ll confidently tell you that this ‘theology’ goes against the central teachings of the Bible. The Bible says that God isn’t “willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” That’s directly at odds with Black Theology. Black Theology is the polar opposite of the Great Commandment,too, part of which says that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. (continue reading post »)

KSTP-TV is reporting that the Minnesota Department of Education is starting an investigation into the TIZA charter school. Tiza was first highlighted by Strib columnist Katherine Kersten in this column. Here’s what KSTP is reporting:

A Star Tribune newspaper column has prompted a state investigation into a charter school. A substitute teacher said a school in Inver Grove Heights is blurring the line of separation of church and state.

Being a charter school Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, or TIZA, is supported by tax dollars. The teacher told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the presence of religion she observed at the school took her by surprise.

TIZA Executive Director Azad Zaman insisted the school follows with state and federal laws. “TIZA does not endorse any religion,” he said.

Substitute teacher Amanda Getz thinks otherwise:

“I’ve been in a lot of schools and I’ve never been in a school where they had washing rituals, or they had prayer, or where they had a room where you had to take your shoes off,” Getz said.

Of course, Imam Zaman denies Ms. Getz’s allegations: (continue reading post »)