Gag Alert: 'The Word' Edition

The woman knows no shame:

Astounding. Truly astounding. Doug Powers offers a few points for your consideration:

Kind of like watching Jack Kevorkian trying to gain the trust of attendees at an AARP convention, isn’t it?

“The word was made flesh” — unless that flesh wasn’t wanted for any reason whatsoever.

Here’s a bit of Pelosi’s abortion voting record from On the Issues:

Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted NO on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
Voted NO on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
Voted NO on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted NO on funding for health providers who don’t provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted NO on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted NO on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001)
Voted NO on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)
Voted NO on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)
Rated 100% by NARAL, indicating a pro-choice voting record. (Dec 2003)
Rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance. (Dec 2006)

If there’s a bumper sticker slogan that best represents Nancy Pelosi, it’s “What Would Jesus Not Do?”

Sorry, I know that was probably as unpleasant for you to watch as it was for me, but we need to understand the depths of hypocrisy to which these people will go. Or, if you prefer it in different terms, we need to understand just how twisted, incoherent, and morally bankrupt these people are.

Whatever works. You get the point.

There's my two cents.

Liberals Gone Wild

Peter Ferrarra has an outstanding column at The American Spectator this week that is a must-read for anyone who thinks liberals genuinely want a separation of church and state.  The truth is...well, not exactly what they say.  The whole article is long, but well worth the read.  Here's the beginning, to whet your appetite:

Even though the Constitution does not include the words "separation of church and state," liberals have long treated that concept as a hallowed fundamental doctrine of constitutional law. But no more. With the recent introduction of new Senate cap and trade legislation, ultraliberal supporters Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and others have now completely abandoned that doctrine in their quest to establish global warming dogma as the official, established religion of the United States.

Under that legislation, everyone in America will be forced to tithe to the new religion through higher prices for electricity, gasoline, natural gas, coal, home heating oil, jet fuel, food (especially meat), and every product produced or transported with such energy sources. Indeed, prices will soar high enough to reduce fossil fuel use and the resulting carbon dioxide emissions back to the per capita levels of 1870!

The legislation will further force Americans to engage in ritual sacrifices to the established religion, slashing back on powerful, roomy cars and SUVS, air conditioning, heat, PCs, laptops, big screen TVs, cell phones, iPods, backyard barbecues, manufacturing jobs, and traditional American prosperity. They will be forced to worship the modern, hip, pagan dogma with smaller "carbon footprints." If they do not profess their true belief, they will be shouted out of public life as troglodyte "deniers," just as those who did not faithfully maintain membership in the established Church of England were disqualified from holding public office.

But if they do faithfully follow the global warming catechism of cap and trade, they will be rewarded with the eternal salvation of a reduction in the projected rise of global temperatures of 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050, based on the UN's own climate models. Hallelujah! Praise the AlGore!

Excellent, excellent stuff.  I strongly encourage you to read the whole thing, especially as the liberals in Congress are still kicking around their cap-n-tax proposals.

It truly is a green religion, and should be viewed as such.

There's my two cents.

Has God Answered?

Is He intervening on our behalf with a message of warning? Rush Limbaugh noticed and pointed out an interesting coincidence last week. First, the setup:

“You had others who said this is the end of freedom as we know it,” [Barack Obama, at a Maine rally to 'sell' the DemCare bill to the American people] continued. “So after I signed the bill, I looked around.”

The laughter began to build.

“I looked up at the sky to see if asteroids were coming,” Mr. Obama said. More laughter.

“I looked at the ground to see if cracks had opened up in the earth,” he continued, echoing remarks he made at a rally in Iowa last week. “You know what, it turned out it was a pretty nice day. Birds were still chirping. Folks were strolling down the street. Nobody had lost their doctor. Nobody had pulled the plug on Granny. Nobody was being dragged away to be forced into some government-run health care plan.”

Ha ha. No, most of the really ugly effects won't be felt for years, as we've discussed many times here on this blog. Nevertheless, guess what happened just days later?

Large parts of northern Europe are expected to remain a no-fly zone today after a vast cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland forced authorities to impose one of the most extensive bans on commercial flights since the second world war.

Thousands of passengers were stranded or diverted yesterday as a volcanic plume drifted across one of the world's busiest air spaces.

Here's a quick time lapse, just to give you an idea of what this looks like:

More:

Scientists say that because the volcano is situated below a glacial ice cap, the magma is being cooled quickly, causing explosions and plumes of grit that can be catastrophic to plane engines if prevailing winds are right.

Aviation experts say the volcanic plume has caused the worst travel disruption Europe — and the world — has ever seen.

Thus, Limbaugh speculates:

I think the earth has opened up. God may have replied. This volcano in Iceland has grounded more airplanes -- airspace has more affected -- than even after 9/11 because of this plume, because of this ash cloud over Northern and Western Europe. At the Paris airport they're telling people to head to the train station to catch trains out of France, and when people get to the train station they're telling people, "There aren't any seats until at least April 22nd," basically a week from now. It's got everybody in a shutdown. Earth has opened up. I don't know whether it's a rebirth or Armageddon. Hopefully it's a rebirth, God speaking.

Is this one of the signs of the 'last days'? I dunno about that, but it sure is one heckuva coincidence that God seems to have answered The One's challenge in such dramatic fashion. Maybe now is a good time to start brushing up on our Bible knowledge...

There's my two cents.

Activist Liberal Judge: National Day Of Prayer Is Unconstitutional

This is why bad federal judicial appointments are worth fighting:

The commie left was at it again yesterday…

Barbara Brandriff Crabb has been a federal district court judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin since Jimmy Carter nominated her in 1979.

A Wisconsin federal judge ruled that the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional on Thursday.
CNS News reported:

Conservative legal experts say a federal district judge in Wisconsin had no legal basis for declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional – and predict the decision cannot stand.

“If the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, then the Constitution itself if unconstitutional,” Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Va., told CNSNews.com.

“The National Day of Prayer – or prayer itself – is older than the Constitution,” Staver said. “There is no question it will be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

In a decision released Thursday, U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb in Madison,Wis., declared unconstitutional a 1988 federal law giving the president the authority to designate the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer.

Appointed by a far Leftist, do we really expect anything else? Elections have consequences, and the authority to appoint federal judges is one of the biggest ones. Rulings like this one really illustrate that it is critical to insist that judges at all levels simply uphold existing law rather than re-write it from the bench. Similar to how we've seen numerous times a single judge with an agenda overrule a majority of a state's voters on gay marriage, this is one radical Leftist trying to enforce her own views onto everyone else. Unfortunately, these attacks are coming more frequently, and seeking ever greater restrictions on our freedom and American heritage.

Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner blasts the ruling:

“America has recognized national days of prayer dating back to the Second Continental Congress in 1775. These annual observances allow us to honor the important role prayer has played in our nation’s history and our daily lives. By celebrating a National Day of Prayer, we honor our Constitution’s protection of religious expression. While I am pleased to see that President Obama will still issue a proclamation recognizing this year’s National Day of Prayer, I hope that he will direct the Justice Department to appeal this troubling ruling. It violates both well-established legal precedent and the spirit of the principles on which our nation was founded.”

Yes, it does. That's why the liberal Left does it - they hate the principles this nation was founded on, and are actively and aggressively trying to destroy them. If this doesn't illustrate the point perfectly, nothing will.

John McCormack asks a poignant question:

Does that mean Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation was unconstitutional as well?

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

So did Ben Franklin, at the original Constitutional Convention:

"All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?"

A few other guys had some things to say on the subject, too:

"Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness."
-- Samuel Adams --

"[I]t is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand....The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People, in a great Measure, than they have it now, They may change their Rulers, and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty."
-- John Adams --

"The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained."
-- George Washington --

Eh, what do they know?

Regardless, this is about as disturbing as it gets, even if the appeal succeeds. I'm not convinced that Obama's DOJ will make such an appeal, and even if they do, I'm not convinced they'll work terribly hard to succeed. Remember, this is the same guy who refuses to have a NDOP service at the White House and canceled a flyover at a 'God and Country' rally, which has been a decades-long tradition. To add insult to injury, he did all this while celebrating Ramadan. I'd actually be more surprised if he did fight this ruling than if he didn't.

Bottom line: I think Gateway Pundit hits the nail on the head when he said, "They will not be content until Christianity is erased from society."

It must be stopped, starting now.

There's my two cents.

The Champion

This will be my last post for the Easter weekend. Rather than post the Scripture as I have the last couple years, I wanted to do something different. Sure, this is old, and perhaps a bit overdramatized...but it still gives me chills every time I listen to it:

Drop.io

Video here.

Enjoy your time this Good Friday and Easter weekend! And remember that, no matter what else happens from day to day, we follow a Champion who is absolutely certain to win in the end.

America: Where Christianity Is The Problem

Politically speaking, anyway:

Rep. Lynn Woolsey wants the Catholic Church audited after the House voted to defund abortion in their nationalized health care bill.
The legislation to refuse abortion funding will likely be stripped from the bill during negotiations with senate democratic leaders.
The Politico reported:

I expect political hardball on any legislation as important as the health care bill.

I just didn’t expect it from the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Who elected them to Congress?

The role the bishops played in the pushing the Stupak amendment, which unfairly restricts access for low-income women to insurance coverage for abortions, was more than mere advocacy.

They seemed to dictate the finer points of the amendment, and managed to bully members of Congress to vote for added restrictions on a perfectly legal surgical procedure.

And this political effort was subsidized by taxpayers, since the Council enjoys tax-exempt status.

When I visit churches in my district, we are very careful to keep everything “non-political” to protect their tax-exempt status.

The IRS is less restrictive about church involvement in efforts to influence legislation than it is about involvement in campaigns and elections.

Given the political behavior of USCCB in this case, maybe it shouldn’t be.

Uh...ya' think?

Can you imagine what this country will transform into if this sort of thing becomes commonplace? If it becomes acceptable to use the power of the government to harass the church for taking a stand based on its fundamental teachings?

Let's hope it just remains in the imagination.

There's my two cents.

Christian Convert Who Ran Away To Avoid Honor Killing Ordered Sent Home

This is just sick, sick, sick:

A runaway teen who said her father threatened to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity will be returned to Ohio once her immigration status has been clarified, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday.

The ruling was a victory for parents Mohamed and Aysha Bary, who had requested that their daughter's custody be transferred to Ohio while other issues in the case are settled. The teen's attorney, John Stemburger, who leads a Christian advocacy organization, opposed the move.

Seventeen-year-old Rifqa Bary left her family in Columbus, Ohio, in July and took refuge in the home of a minister in Orlando, Florida. The girl was later moved into foster care after she said in an affidavit that her Muslim father had threatened her after finding out about her conversion. Her father has denied the allegation.

In Tuesday's ruling, Judge Daniel Dawson said it was in Bary's best interest for her emergency custody continue in Ohio.

Oh, come on!  We're talking about the Religion of Peace here!  We all know there's no such thing as a Muslim honor killing in the Religion of Peace!  Except, well, when there is one, like this one or this one in Canada, this one in Pakistan, this one in Turkey, this one in Jordan, this one in the U.K., this one in Saudi Arabia, this one in London, and who knows how many that go unreported in the hardcore Muslim countries throughout the Middle East and Africa.  You know, now that I think about it, I found all these in just a few minutes of searching; the real list is virtually endless.

But hey, there's no possible danger from an honor killing right here in the United States, is there?  No, of course not...unless you consider this one in Sioux Falls, this one in Texas, this one in New York, this one in Georgia, these attempted honor killings in Michigan and Pennsylvania...

But Bary's parents seem so genuine:

The ruling follows months of legal wrangling, including the affidavit from the teenager claiming that her father was pressured by the family's mosque in Ohio to "deal with the situation," referring to her conversion. In an earlier court filing, Rifqa Bary alleged that her father said, "If you have this Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me!" The teenager claims her father added, "I will kill you!" Mohamed Bary, 47, has denied the accusations.

"We wouldn't do her harm," he said, adding that he knew his daughter was involved with Christian organizations.

Oh, okay.  Case closed, I guess.

In all seriousness, this is truly sickening.  There is a clear precedent of honor killings for offenses far less egregious than converting to Christianity, both around the world and here in America (one of the links above justifies murder because the girl was using Facebook).  There is a clear and decisive call in the Koran for the death of all apostates (people who convert away from Islam), and honor killings are a central part of Islamic Sharia law, as we've discussed here many times before.  We all get just one life, and making a mis-judgment on something like this could literally be fatal for this girl.  I pray it is not.

A study of 50 honor killings in the U.S. and Canada is discussed here.  A video series discussing honor killings in America can be found here.  Pray for this girl and her safety.

There's my two cents.

Britain's Death March

One of the last great democracies in the world is sinking under the weight of its own political correctness:

Christian hotel owners arrested after defending their beliefs in discussion with Muslim guest
Note that this was simply a discussion, but the Muslim woman was offended and so they were arrested.

Home Office staff told not to eat in front of Muslims during Ramadan
Because it might make them hungry. Even Muslim groups think this is over the top.

Christian nurse told to remove cross necklace
Not because of its religious nature but because they're afraid a patient might grab it. So they claim.

Note that in all of these cases laws and regulations are applied only to Christians while Muslims are given extra protection and deference. I believe it was Mark Steyn who noted that Islam is becoming the de facto state religion of Britain since it seems to enjoy protections and privileges not offered to any other faith. Once the government starts subsidizing mosques, the process will be pretty much over.

But there's more...

School lunch lady fired for telling parents their daughter had been tied up and whipped by school bullies
They claim she violated the student's confidentiality. I guess the parents weren't supposed to know.

Father carrying out citizen's arrest on delinquents gets arrested by police
After being pelted by teenagers for 3 nights in a row, he tried to restrain one of them and called the police. The police show up 5 days later and arrest him; the youths are let go.

To paraphrase Dennis Prager when you're kind to the cruel, you always end up being cruel to the kind. Note that in both cases the actual offenders went unpunished - only the decent people were punished.

Yeah all of these are isolated incidents covered in a tabloidy way, but when all of the isolated data points fall in the same direction, it becomes a trend. And it's not a good one for the UK. I just hope that they haven't passed the tipping point.

Let's hope America stops following its parent nation before it's too late. I fear Britain is already too far gone to recover its independence and love of liberty.

There's my two cents.

Barack Obama: Anti-Christian President

This is just great:

Democrats in government have banned religious ornaments from the Capital Christmas Tree this year.

O! Obama Tree,
O! Obama Tree...

At least they are still calling it a Christmas tree... They are, aren't they?
Lifesite News reported, via FOX Nation:

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) called on Arizona state and federal officials on Monday to stop enforcing a requirement prohibiting the state's schoolchildren from expressing religious viewpoints through Christmas themes while decorating ornaments for the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree.

Arizona was chosen this year to present 4,000 handcrafted ornaments made by elementary, middle-school, and high-school students to decorate Washington, D.C.'s annual Christmas tree.

Guidelines for the ornaments include specifications for their size, weight, composition, and the directive that "Ornaments cannot reflect a religious or political theme… Instead share your interpretation of our theme 'Arizona's Gift, from the Grand Canyon State.'"

In a letter to federal and state officials, including Arizona Governor Janice Brewer, ADF attorneys demanded that they abandon the discrimination against religious viewpoints.

"Banning Christmas from the Capitol Christmas tree is just absurd. Christian students shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their religious beliefs," said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Jonathan Scruggs.

"The First Amendment does not allow government officials to exclude schoolchildren's ornaments for the capitol's Christmas tree merely because they communicate a religious viewpoint."

The anti-Christian onslaught begins.

There's my two cents.

Obama To Celebrate Ramadan Tonight

RCP:

A noteworthy update to President Obama's light schedule this week, considering the rumors about his religion that lingered throughout the 2008 campaign. From the White House guidance for Tuesday:

In the evening, the President will host a dinner celebrating Ramadan and highlight the contributions of American Muslims in the State Dining Room. The President's remarks will be pooled press.

Because, you know, this is not a Christian nation; it's actually a Muslim nation.  What, you didn't know that?

Well, in any case, he's just being fair to non-Christians, too.  Or something.

There's my two cents.

Obama Hearts Islam

Just read this whole thing from Hot Air. It's disgusting:

Last spring, Barack Obama decided against holding a public event or even giving a public statement at the White House on the National Day of Prayer. Robert Gibbs explained that Obama preferred to pray privately and stick to written proclamations, rather than hold a public event with Christian and Jewish leaders to mark the occasion as George Bush did for the previous eight years:

“I think the president understands, in his own life and in his family’s life, the role that prayer plays,” Gibbs said. “And I would denote that the administrations prior to the past one did proclamations. That’s the way the president will publicly observe the national prayer day. But, as I said, privately, he’ll pray as he does every day.”

Of course, if the President prefers to make his religious observations in private, that’s his business. As long as he’s consistent, it shouldn’t cause anyone any problem, right? Right?

Er …

President Obama continued his charm offensive on the Islamic world today, posting on the White House blog a video wishing Muslims a happy Ramadan, the month of fasting, prayer and charity observed by Muslims worldwide.

But to be fair …

This isn’t the first time Obama has sent special holiday messages — in April, for example, there was a two-fer video post on the White House blog recognizing Passover and Easter.

And yet …

But this message was part of a larger push, a point made clear in the introduction to the Ramadan video by Rashad Hussein, a deputy associate counsel in the White House who was the first Muslim in Obama’s administration.

“This month is also a time of renewal and this marks the first Ramadan since the President outlined his vision for a new beginning between America and the Muslim world,” Hussein wrote. “The President’s message is part of an on-going dialogue with Muslim communities that began on inauguration day and has continued with his statement on Nowruz, during trips to Ankara and Cairo, and with interviews with media outlets such as Al Arabiya and Dawn TV.”

I’ll leave this one to your judgment.

On a related note...

For 42 years, the God and Country Rally in Idaho has started its rally with a military fly over.

The God and Country Rally is a non-denominational rally that supports American soldiers.

For 42 years the Pentagon has carried out the military fly over.

Not any more.

In Barack Obama’s America, the military is no longer allowed to do such things if the group requesting the fly over is Christian oriented.

That’s not an exaggeration.

Let’s roll the tape:

Just more evidence that Barack Obama is not just pro-Muslim, but actually anti-Christian.

Gird your loins, people of faith. Gird your loins.

There's my two cents.

America Is A WHAT?!

Remember when Obama said America was not a Christian nation?  Well, unbelievably, he has now successfully one-upped himself:

As we noted earlier, and as ABC now confirms, Obama's speech in Cairo will focus on his Muslim roots and the unique perspective it provides him. Obama also teased the contents of the speech in an interview with a French television station:

What I want to do is to create a better dialogue so that the Muslim world understands more effectively how the United States but also how the West thinks about many of these difficult issues like terrorism, like democracy, to discuss the framework for what's happened in Iraq and Afghanistan and our outreach to Iran, and also how we view the prospects for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Now, the flip side is I think that the United States and the West generally, we have to educate ourselves more effectively on Islam. And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslims Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. And so there's got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples.

Surely President Obama is smarter and more worldly than the last White House occupant, but there are not 57 states in the Union -- and if there were, the United States would still not be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. Eight million Muslims seems to be at the high end of estimates of America's Muslim community. That number barely puts the United States in the top 40. There are more Muslims in tiny Jordan than there are in the United States, and twice as many in Syria.

Obama is undertaking a very significant reorientation of American foreign policy, and one hopes that he isn't doing so on the very mistaken belief that the United States is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. Actually, if you look at the number of Jewish Americans, we'd be the largest Jewish country in the world after Israel. And America is the largest Christian country in the world. This context might be useful to the president as he tries to help the Muslim world better understand the United States.

This is the 're-making' project in action.  How's it feel?  Thinking twice about that vote last November?  You can change your mind in 2010.

There's my two cents.

The 'You've Gotta' Be Kidding Me!' Files Just Keep Growing

Watch:

Unbelievable. How is this happening in America? Oh yeah, because America is being 're-made'.

There's my two cents.

The Missing Link? Only In Their Minds

Let's take a brief break from politics.

You may have seen the latest attempt to prove that humans are nothing more than animals - the denigration has been splashed around the headlines quite a bit.  Here's the story from that oh-so-unbiased National Geographic:
 

 

Meet "Ida," the small "missing link" found in Germany that's created a big media splash and will likely continue to make waves among those who study human origins.

In a new book, documentary, and promotional Web site, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil seen above, suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution (interactive guide to human evolution from National Geographic magazine).

The fossil, he says, bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs.

"This is the first link to all humans," Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement. Ida represents "the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor."

Ida, properly known as Darwinius masillae, has a unique anatomy. The lemur-like skeleton features primate-like characteristics, including grasping hands, opposable thumbs, clawless digits with nails, and relatively short limbs.

Before you succumb to the urge to pick mites out of your best friend's hair, let's slow down and think a bit about the progression here:
1. They found a fossil.
2. The fossil looks like a lemur-ish monkey.
3. The fossil is not exactly the same as a lemur or monkey is today.
Conclusion: Therefore, it must be a direct ancestor for all of humanity.

That's quite a leap of logic!

Since you won't hear any qualified rebuttals in any mainstream media outlet, let me present you with two.  First, the Institute for Creation Research:

...despite the hype, a whirlwind of questions still surrounds the discovery. First, the environment in which the fossil was kept for 20 years is unclear. Ida, who bears the technical name Darwinius masillae in honor of this year's 200^th anniversary of British naturalist Charles Darwin's birth, was found in 1983 by an amateur fossil hunter at Germany's Messel Pit. He kept it in unknown conditions before deciding to sell it through a dealer two years ago.

Second, the purchaser's stated motivation for obtaining the fossil seemed to emphasize business over research. University of Oslo paleontologist Jørn Hurum nicknamed the fossil "Ida" after his own small daughter and told UK news outlet The Guardian, "You need an icon or two in a museum to drag people in…this is our Mona Lisa and it will be our Mona Lisa for the next 100 years."¹ Hurum purchased the fossil for an undisclosed sum from the dealer based on seeing only three photographs and not the actual fossil, a "huge gamble" that suggests pressure to make some kind of return on the university's investment.

Third, the fossil was hailed as humanity's missing evolutionary link before the technical details of the find were published. This strategy effectively prevented the scientific community from evaluating the data and possibly calling a halt to the campaign on account of the fact that Ida has no transitional features and is therefore irrelevant to the evolutionary hypothesis of human development. Paleontologists are speaking out, but their voices are thus far being drowned out by the hype. Richard Kay from Duke University told Science that "the data is cherry-picked."²

Their conclusion:

Ida, though an amazingly well-preserved fossil, will prove to be another Lucy, Java Man, Archaeopteryx, Confuciusornis, Pakicetus, and Eosimias. It will undoubtedly join the growing collection of fossils that were once thought to be missing links, but that upon further study turned out to be extinct creatures with no transitional features.

Cincinnati-based Answers in Genesis has a similar analysis:

...rather than an apeman-like missing link that some media sources have irresponsibly implied, the real story is quite underwhelming and should in no way faze creationists. Let's first review the facts:

• The well-preserved fossil (95 percent complete, including fossilized fur and more) is about the size of a raccoon and includes a long tail. It resembles the skeleton of a lemur (a small, tailed, tree-climbing primate). The fossil does not resemble a human skeleton.
• The fossil was found in two parts by amateur fossil hunters in 1983. It eventually made its way through fossil dealers to the research team.
• Ida has opposable thumbs, which the ABC News article states are "similar to humans' and unlike those found on other modern mammals" (i.e., implying that opposable thumbs are evidence of evolution). Yet lemurs today have opposable thumbs (like all primates). Likewise, Ida has nails, as do other primates. And the talus bone is described as "the same shape as in humans," despite the fact that there are other differences in the ankle structure.³
• Unlike today's lemurs (as far as scientists know), Ida lacks the "grooming claw" and a "toothcomb" (a fused row of teeth) In fact, its teeth are more similar to a monkey's. These are minor differences easily explained by variation within a kind.

Given these facts, it may seem incredible that anyone would hail this find as a "missing link."

AiG also provides an in-depth analysis of a creationist's viewpoint:

The principles that inform creationists about Ida are some of the same that allow creationists to interpret fossil after fossil hailed as "transitional forms":

1. Nothing about this fossil suggests it is anything other than an extinct, lemur-like creature. Its appearance is far from chimpanzee, let alone "apeman" or human.
2. A fossil can never show evolution. Fossils are unchanging records of dead organisms. Evolution is an alleged process of change in live organisms. Fossils show "evolution" only if one presupposes evolution, then uses that presupposed belief to interpret the fossil.
3. Similarities can never show evolution. If two organisms have similar structures, the only thing it proves is that the two have similar structures. One must presuppose evolution to say that the similarities are due to evolution rather than design. Furthermore, when it comes to "transitional forms," the slightest similarities often receive great attention while major differences are ignored.
4. The remarkable preservation is a hallmark of rapid burial. Team member Jørn Hurum of the University of Oslo said, "This fossil is so complete. Everything's there. It's unheard of in the primate record at all. You have to get to human burial to see something that's this complete." Even the contents of Ida's stomach were preserved. While the researchers believe Ida sunk to the bottom of a lake and was buried, this preservation is more consistent with a catastrophic flood.⁴ Yet Ida was found with "hundreds of well-preserved specimens."⁵
5. If evolution were true, there would be real transitional forms. Instead, the best "missing links" evolutionists can come up with are strikingly similar to organisms we see today, usually with the exception of minor, controversial, and inferred anatomical differences.
6. Evolutionists only open up about the lack of fossil missing links once a new one is found. Sky News reports, "Researchers say proof of this transitional species finally confirms Charles Darwin's theory of evolution," while Attenborough commented that the missing link "is no longer missing." So are they admitting the evidence was missing until now (supposedly)?

So it's clear what Ida is not. As for our conclusion on what Ida is, we wrote in News to Note:

[B]ecause the fossil is similar to a modern lemur (a small, tailed, tree-climbing primate), it's unlikely that creationists need any interpretation of the "missing link" other than that it was a small, tailed, probably tree-climbing, and now extinct primate—from a kind created on Day 6 of Creation Week.

AiG, like the ICR, also points out that the amazing revelation of this 'missing link' comes at the pinnacle of a big PR campaign for a new book and TV show.  Remember the old truism: follow the money...

Sorry, I guess we strayed into politics after all.

But, at least we were talking about lemurs and monkeys rather than professional politi...oh, wait...

There's my two cents.

Obama Speaks At Notre Dame

The most pro-death President ever has now spoken at the most widely known Catholic educational institution in the country. This interview with Chris Wallace lays out the case against Obama very clearly:

Clearly, a great many Catholics were against this. In the video clip above, we heard that over 70 top Catholic leaders were against this speech, and millions of Catholics across the country are similarly distressed that Notre Dame went through with it. During his speech, Obama was interrupted four times by protesters:

Gateway Pundit comments: "Now Obama knows what it feels like to be a Republican." He also links to a statement from RNC chairman Michael Steele who said, "Obama's actions speak louder than his words."

On a related note, Eternal Vigilance makes a poignant observation:

Barack Obama told Americans during his last White House press conference that waterboarding terrorist killers was torture. He used a bogus Churchill quote to back up his position.

Unfortunately, Barack Obama has not been as kind to babies born alive after surviving abortion.
He's voted four times in support of infanticide.

This points out the inescapable conclusion that Obama is much, much harder on the unborn than on terrorist killers.

That should help our moral standing in the world a whole lot.

One interviewee I saw on TV pointed out that we'd never see Planned Parenthood invite Pope Benedict to speak at their national convention and give them an honorary degree, so why is it any different for Obama speaking at Notre Dame? It's a signal that there is a great deal of rot inside the Catholic church. For all the bishops who officially condemned the speech, where were they when it happened? Where was the Vatican?

Finally, I want to leave you with a powerful image - a priest being arrested, bound, and carried away for defending the unborn while pro-death, pro-infanticide Obama drinks in the applause on stage.

Words fail.

There's my two cents.

No Prayer For The White House

Today is the National Day of Prayer, but not everyone is participating (h/t Gateway Pundit):

President Obama is distancing himself from the National Day of Prayer by nixing a formal early morning service and not attending a large Catholic prayer breakfast the next morning.

All Mr. Obama will do for the National Day of Prayer, which is Thursday, is sign a proclamation honoring the day, which originated in 1952 when Congress set aside the first Thursday in May for the observance.

For the past eight years, President George W. Bush invited selected Christian and Jewish leaders to the White House East Room, where he typically would give a short speech and several leaders offered prayers.

In related news, Hawaii just passed a law establishing Islam Day.

In more related news, Christian programming will no longer be allowed on the government-run NPR broadcasting channel.

Hope!  Change!

There's my two cents.

Here's How It's Done

You may have heard about this already. I wasn't planning to post about the dustup between Miss California and Perez Hilton, but as it has grown into a full-blown scuffle, I have been more and more impressed with this lady (and no, I'm not talking about Hilton). Carrie Prejean, Miss California and runner-up Miss America 2009, shows us how it's done when the Left tries to smear you.

First, the obligatory language warning. After all, we're talking about Hollywood Leftists, gay marriage, and a conservative Christian...profanity is a given. Here's how it all started:

Being a radical gay activist himself, Perez Hilton didn't take this very well. Here's his response, posted later on his own blog:

Ah, there's that wonderful tolerance from the uber-tolerant Left! Isn't it a thing to behold? It's also a typical liberal response to something that threatens them: resort to name-calling. Oh, and one more thing...Hilton should probably go back and watch the clip of Prejean's answer. I heard only applause, not the boos he suggested (they must have just been inside his head). And, he did later tell Access Hollywood that he believes she lost because of this answer. Later, he upped the ante and used the 'c' word. Nice.

Anyway, how did Miss Prejean respond? With real class, character, and integrity:

FOXNews.com: How are you feeling today?

Carrie Prejean: Honestly, happy. This happened for a reason. By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith. I'm glad I stayed true to myself.

FOXNews.com: Are you upset that Perez Hilton called you a "b**ch" in his blog rant?

Carrie Prejean: Yes, but I have no regrets about answering honestly. He asked me for my opinion and I gave it to him. I have nothing against gay people, and I didn't mean to offend anyone in my answer.

Even worse, Prejean stated on MSNBC the following:

"I can only say to him that I will be praying for him. I feel sorry for him, I really do," Prejean said. "I think he's angry, I think he's hurt. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. He asked me specifically what my opinion was on that subject and I gave him an honest answer."

AAAHHH!!! She's praying for him! How rude and insulting! Can you imagine how angry this must make Hilton?? I think it's hilarious, but he's probably spitting nails! Also, it's a testament to this girl's faith and character that she's refusing to be dragged into the sewer with Hilton. As she remains classy and steadfast, and as Hilton continues to throw profanities at her, it's pretty hard for even gay marriage proponents to come down too hard on her. As Maggie Gallagher said, "This is a PR bonanza for gay-marriage opponents, and the stupider and nastier Perez “dumb bitch” Hilton gets, the bigger the bonanza is."

Another interesting wrinkle here is that these same pro-gay-marriage activists seem to have no problem with their savior, Barack Obama, saying the exact same words on the campaign trail. Watch into the video here if you don't believe it. Just more proof of the disingenuousness of these attacks. I have to give Matt Lauer kudos for actually holding Perez's feet to the fire somewhat and not letting him off particularly easy, and for giving Prejean a fair chance to speak her side of the story.

For her part, she claimed she was just being 'Biblically correct' rather than politically correct. How dare she! The message to take away from this is that Hollywood will tolerate none of that Bible crap. Cliff May put it this way in framing a larger issue:

I think we are at a point where the Left/Islamist Alliance thinks it really has a historic opportunity to stifle free speech. The Miss California episode is making clear that a price will be paid for voicing banned views in public. Lawyers who wrote opinions on the interrogation of terrorists are to be prosecuted as criminals — this will encourage others to follow the party line in the future. Janeane Garofalo says that anyone who criticises Obama's policies is a "racist." In Geneva this week, a U.N. conference is pushing to prohibit, under international law, any criticism of Islam. Call me crazy, but I see a pattern.

And that brings us to the politics of the event. Politically speaking, Prejean has since also said that she is opposed to bailouts and welfare. As Allahpundit at Hot Air said: "Dude. She's one of us."

Be careful, Miss Prejean...if someone catches you with a high-powered rifle or gutting some wildlife, you may end up seeing yourself suddenly being compared to Sarah Palin!

Regardless, this lady is a total class act. From the tension of the moment in which she chose to follow her convictions to the aftermath in which she has responded to smears and insults with love and compassion, Carrie Prejean shows us how it's done.

There's my two cents.

Not A Christian Nation?

President Obama thinks so. In fact, he's so convinced of it that, in a recent speech at Georgetown University, he asked the school to cover up the "IHS" that stands for Jesus Christ's name while he spoke. Of course, that didn't stop the Obamessiah from quoting from the real Messiah's scripture to support his own political purposes:

Hot Air points out that the word "Jesus" was never mentioned.

I could point out that this is an example of hypocrisy on Obama's part. I could mention how he openly professed to be a Christian on the campaign trail. But I won't. Instead, I will just point out that this is entirely consistent with his standard mode of operations - he has no use for Christianity or Christians (which can be seen through his 'bitter-clinger' comments and his direct attacks on life and charitable donations, for example) except when he needs their support for one of his political goals. Then he's all religious and stuff. If you don't see this for what it is, you need to open your eyes, because it's going to continue unabated for the next three and a half years.

Hope! Change!

There's my two cents.

Juxtapose This

I love this comparison from Rachel Abrams at The Weekly Standard:

Barack Obama's weekly radio address Saturday:

I speak to you today during a time that is holy and filled with meaning for believers around the world. Earlier this week, Jewish people gathered with family and friends to recite the stories of their ancestors' struggle and ultimate liberation. Tomorrow, Christians of all denominations will come together to rejoice and remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

These are two very different holidays with their own very different traditions. But it seems fitting that we mark them both during the same week. For in a larger sense, they are both moments of reflection and renewal. They are both occasions to think more deeply about the obligations we have to ourselves and the obligations we have to one another, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what faith we practice.

George Bush's, delivered April 7, 2007, the last time Easter fell during Passover week:

This week, people around the world celebrate Passover and Easter. These holy days remind us of the presence of a loving God who delivers His people from oppression, and offers a love more powerful than death. We take joy in spending this special time with family and friends, and we give thanks for the many blessings in our lives.

One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we have brave citizens who step forward to defend us. Every man or woman who wears our Nation's uniform is a volunteer, a patriot who has made the noble decision to serve a cause larger than self. This weekend, many of our service men and women are celebrating the holidays far from home. They are separated from their families by great distances, but they are always close in our thoughts. And this Passover and Easter, I ask you to keep them in your prayers.

In the Obama worldview as expressed here, celebrations of Passover and Easter are oddly unrelated to faith. What Jews and Christians believe in, what they're celebrating, he seems to be saying, is their own histories, and nothing more. Even the resurrection of Jesus Christ is mentioned--by a professing Christian--as something to be rejoiced over and remembered as if it were the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.

But this religion without God thing is a tricky business; it can lead us to believe our first purpose is "to think more deeply about the obligations we have to ourselves" and only then to consider "the obligations we have to one another." Without "a loving God who delivers His people from oppression, and offers a love more powerful than death," we have no place to "give thanks for the many blessings in our lives," and without gratitude we have no right to ask others to sacrifice themselves "to serve a cause larger than self."

Amen to that!  And this illustrates one of the fundamental differences between the two Presidents, at least as far as appearances go: for one, faith is real and has real ramifications in real life; for the other, faith is a poster to be advertised and used for purely political purposes.

There's my two cents.

Happy Easter!!!

Luke 24

The Resurrection

^1(A)But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

³but when they entered, they did not find the body of ^(B)the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, behold, ^(C)two men suddenly ^(D)stood near them in dazzling clothing;

⁵and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?

⁶"He is not here, but He ^(E)has risen Remember how He spoke to you ^(F)while He was still in Galilee,

⁷saying that ^(G)the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."

⁸And ^(H)they remembered His words,

⁹and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

Today is the day we Christians celebrate Easter. It is the most important day of the year in terms of our faith because it is the day that Jesus Christ, through the power of God the Father, rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. As such, His sacrifice -- taking on our sins despite being perfect Himself, and dying in our place for those sins -- opened wide the door to salvation for anyone who would receive the gift of His grace. We have but to accept that gift from God, and our eternity in Heaven is assured.

If you feel a calling to take this step, find a Christian family member, friend, or acquaintance to discuss this with. Find a pastor or priest. Contact me. Just don't let another day go by without acting on this calling.

Easter is truly a cause for joy, so celebrate it!