Yet More Evidence of the Obama/Ayers Friendship -- The Friendship Obama and the MSM Keep Lying About

...I find it very hard — no, make that impossible — to believe that Barack Obama had “no idea” who William Ayers really was, or that he had a past as a notorious domestic terrorist (as Obama’s campaign has claimed) while serving on panels with Ayers and simultaneously praising Ayers’ book in a major newspaper.

This story is likely to continue growing, and I thought that the image above would provide a good “visual” for the Obama-Ayers connection.

You've got to check out this revelatory report from Zomblog. Wow.

Consider Obama's outright lies about his relationship with unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers AND then consider the complete subservience of the mainstream media to those lies. Golly; the horrors of Halloween are nothing compared with the frightening reality of this unprincipled radical in the White House.

Today's Posts

A Pro-Life Champion Sends a Note

The Black Opposition to Barack Obama You're Not Hearing About

Ending Race and Gender-Based Discrimination

For "Healthy" Health Care, The Choice Is Clear

Drawing On Life

Paul Erlich's "Population Bomb" Never Exploded. But He Still Does.

Domestic Terrorist Bill Ayers' Speech at UNL Canceled: Officials Ironically Blame "Safety Concerns"

A Pro-Life Champion Sends a Note

Dear Denny,

Thanks again for another inspirational Life Sharer letter. What a tremendous blessing that the money we donate can be stretched to such a vast and needy world, a world so much in need of Jesus. Thanks for teaching those who were teachable in Burkina Faso, helping adults to be equipped to teach children. Bless you and Claire for caring so much and for being a living sacrifice for our Lord and our God.

Thank you for the news of Bill Ayers being invited to the U, my alma mater. I did send an email to Perlman expressing my huge disappointment that such and invitation would be made. [And it was part of the difference. See this early Monday post.]

And thank you for Heroes in the Library which almost brought me to tears as I reflected on all the awesome and wholesome heroes in my 66 years of life on His planet...

In loving gratitude,

Harvey

[Denny responds: Thanks, Harvey. Of course after reading your very nice note, I remembered one of those sports heroes I forgot to mention, a fellow I know you also have a great amount of admiration for: Yankee standout and outspoken Christian, Bobby Richardson. Say "hey" to Judy for us.]

The Black Opposition to Barack Obama You're Not Hearing About

The MSM has gone predictably ga-ga over Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama, leaving out of their coverage entirely the opposition to Obama of such prominent black religious leaders as Dr. Alveda King, Bishop Harry R. Jackson, William Owens, Star Parker and Dr. Eric Wallace -- all featured in this 10-minute video clip.

Ending Race and Gender-Based Discrimination

Dan Parsons passes along a well-written article from the Wall Street Journal that deals with ending race and gender-based discrimination, one example of which is the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative on this election ballot.

While choosing between tickets featuring Barack Obama or Sarah Palin this November, voters in Colorado and Nebraska will also be able to bury the idea that blacks and women in America still need special help to get ahead.

In those states, the ballot will carry civil rights initiatives to end race and gender preferences in public hiring and education. Led by Ward Connerly's American Civil Rights Institute, the measures would take a chip out of racial preferences that have committed the same kinds of discrimination they were designed to prevent.

If passing laws to ban discrimination sounds like a triumph for civil rights, you wouldn't know it from the heckling of opponents, who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep the measures off ballots around the country, using tactics from lawsuits to voter deception to defeat the plans...

Read the rest of the WSJ article here.

For "Healthy" Health Care, The Choice Is Clear

Dear Vital Signs Ministries,

Thank you for your blog post on health care. I didn't understand before how McCain and Obama differed on the issue of health care. Having a pre-existing condition, as I do, actual "insurance" companies won't give me the time of day. So I, more than others, realize the necessity for a change in the health care system. Just one more reason to vote for McCain!

Thanks,

N_______

Drawing On Life

Among other accomplishments in his young life, Josh Duncan is a talented cartoonist, actor, karate athlete and writer. Because of a long-standing friendship with his parents (Rick & Kelly), I've known Josh since he was a kid and have always been impressed with his energy, his desire to make a difference in the world, and the depth of his Christian faith. Well, Josh is now a student at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska where he's majoring in art. He's also started a very interesting blog, Here I Stand: Reflections of a Concordia Student.

I've enjoyed reading through Josh's meandering musings on life and I think you might too. My favorites so far are What I Think of Turning the Other Cheek, My Thoughts on Relativism and Public Education and this provocative cartoon:

Paul Erlich's "Population Bomb" Never Exploded. But He Still Does.

Writing on the website Salon.com, Paul Ehrlich, author of the 1969 bestseller “The Population Bomb,” suggested that every couple “should have slightly fewer than two children.” Ehrlich declared, “I believe it is immoral and should be illegal for people to have very large numbers of children because they are co-opting for themselves and their children resources that should be spread elsewhere in the world. You only get a chance to get your fair share.”

Ehrlich – who is almost as famous for the inaccuracy of his predictions as Karl Marx – spoke favorably of China’s coercive one-child-per-family policy and suggested using tax policy as a club. “You could simply raise taxes very high on people who have beyond two children.”

In the late 1960s, Ehrlich predicted that “over-population” would lead to worldwide famine within the decade. In the 1970s, he forecast the eminent extinction of all major species in the oceans.

(Source: World Congress of Families' October newsletter)

Domestic Terrorist Bill Ayers' Speech at UNL Canceled: Officials Ironically Blame "Safety Concerns"

"Safety concerns have forced University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials to cancel plans for William Ayers to speak on campus.

Ayers, who founded a group in the late 1960s that claimed responsibility for bombing several government buildings, was to speak Nov. 15."

The irony of the above news report is, of course, both obvious and grimly humorous to an objective reader. After all, the only dangerous crackpot in this affair is the arrogant, Marxist terrorist who was invited to be the guest of honor...not, as UNL officials would lead you to believe, the numerous Nebraskans who sent e-mails and made phone calls in protest of Ayers' paid appearance at UNL's College of Education birthday party.

Indeed, disingenuous UNL officials provided no evidence whatsoever of the "safety concerns that forced them" to cancel the event. Even Chuck Hassebrook, the chairman of the NU Board of Regents who had defended the school's choice of Ayers as a speaker, admitted that none of the messages that made their way to his office contained any threats of violence.

Those messages of protest, we are pleased to say, included this Vital Signs blog post which I forwarded to UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman and two personal e-mails from Claire and I, respectively.

And both of our e-mails, like I'm sure were the case with almost all others that were sent in, were firm but courteous and free from any coercive elements.

Threats? Violence? Safety Concerns? No, those don't come from the patriotic Nebraskans who simply voiced their opinions to UNL officials about the staggering impropriety of honoring an unrepentant domestic terrorist; they come instead from the likes of Bill Ayers who, when he didn't get his way, cravenly started throwing bombs.

We are certainly pleased that Bill Ayers was finally dis-invited. But one wishes that UNL officials would tell the truth about why they did so rather than lying about it and trying to blame the wrong people.

Today's Posts

The Haar v Jeffers Legislative Race: Planned Parenthood's Interests Face an Impressive Challenger

Newsweek/Washington Post Fumbles Its Coverage of Evangelicals and Global Warming

Small but Strong: Malta and Fiji Stand Against UN's Abortion Pressure

"On Abortion and the African American Family" from Bishop Martin D. Holley

University of Nebraska Birthday Bash to Star Domestic Terrorist Bill Ayers

The Haar v Jeffers Legislative Race: Planned Parenthood's Interests Face an Impressive Challenger

I mentioned last week that Ken Haar, the husband of Planned Parenthood's Chris Funk, was running for the Nebraska Legislature. Well, I've just seen a mailing produced by Nebraska Right to Life which gives a bit more information about the guy, including a picture of Haar doing "escort duty" outside Planned Parenthood's abortion mill in Lincoln. Nice fellow, huh?

But Haar has done his "duty" by Planned Parenthood in other ways too -- like voting for Planned Parenthood to receive $74,000 from city funds! These votes came from 1991 through 1997 when he was a Lincoln City Councilman.

The postcard also informs readers that Nebraska Right to Life has endorsed Haar's opponent in the District 21 race, James Jeffers.

Jeffers is a very successful small businessman who founded and owns Quality Pork International, Lincoln Aviation Sales, and James Arthur Vineyards which is now Nebraska’s largest winery. James and his wife, Neenie (shown at right) have been married for 54 years and have 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren.

Jim Jeffers has been endorsed by not only Nebraska Right to Life but also by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, State Auditor Mike Foley, Attorney General Jon Bruning, State Senator Tony Fulton, the Lincoln Independent Business Association, and many others.

Newsweek/Washington Post Fumbles Its Coverage of Evangelicals and Global Warming

I gladly pass along Dr. E. Calvin Beisner's observations about (among other things) recent misinformation concerning how evangelicals are dealing with global warming. Good stuff here. (Dr. Beisner, who I have referred to frequently here at Vital Signs, is the national spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation.)

In an article posted October 13 in the "On Faith" department of WashingtonPost.com, David Waters reports on the debate among evangelicals about global warming. He is right that evangelicals are divided, and he rightly reports that, according to a Barna survey released last month, 90 percent of evangelicals want Christians to take a more active role in caring for the environment but 60 percent are concerned that proposed solutions could hurt the poor. In fact, 65 percent think the media reports are overly hyped, and 62 percent believe that cyclical climate change is not primarily caused by human activity.

But after that, the article gets things effectively backward on several fronts. Most seriously, Waters misidentifies an “Urgent Call to Action” as a statement of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). In fact, the January 2007 “Urgent Call” was issued by a dozen or so evangelicals (including Richard Cizik, the NAE’s vice president for governmental affairs), acting in their private capacities.

Waters's mixup is understandable, because for years Cizik has consistently failed to make it clear when he speaks for himself and when he speaks for his employer. In the winter of 2005, Cizik tried to persuade the NAE board to endorse a statement on global warming. The board refused. Instead, the NAE's executive committee issued a statement saying, in part, "Recognizing the ongoing debate regarding the causes and origins of global warming, and understanding the lack of consensus among the evangelical community on this issue, the NAE Executive Committee, while affirming our love for the Creator and His creation, directs the NAE staff to stand by and not exceed in any fashion our approved and adopted statements concerning the environment contained within the Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility.” If honored, this motion would have ended Cizik’s aggressive climate change advocacy.

The NAE’s "Call to Civic Responsibility," a seminal statement on evangelicals and public life that was co-authored by Christians who disagreed on many secondary issues, never even mentions global warming or climate change, let alone takes a position on it. That’s why, as the article notes, prominent evangelical leaders with a wide spectrum of views on global warming all were happy to sign on.

Backers of Cizik’s failed global warming position then formed their own organization, the Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI), and issued "Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action" in February, 2006. The Cornwall Alliance published a point-by-point rebuttal in "A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming" in August, 2006.

Despite the setback and ignoring his own board’s official motion, Cizik continued to promote urgent action on global warming, frequently representing the NAE as endorsing his personal position. In late 2006 he participated in a retreat with Harvard scientist Eric Chivian and others that led to issuance of the "Urgent Call." The NAE never endorsed that document, either, and board chairman L. Roy Taylor stated that the “Urgent Call” did not come from the NAE or its board.

The quotations Waters cites as from the NAE's "Call to Civic Responsibility" (". . . human-induced climate change is real . . . We are convinced that evangelicals must engage this issue without any further lingering over the basic reality of the problem or humanity's responsibility to address it," and "Millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors.") actually came from the ECI--the document the NAE refused to endorse.

Finally, Waters's article describes the WeGetIt.org campaign as "a direct response” to the “Urgent Call." The WeGetIt.org Declaration is not a response to any document, but merely a general statement of a widely held evangelical view on creation stewardship and global warming. The campaign centers on a simple 150-word declaration by which Christians can show that they are concerned about the environment and the poor, and aren’t convinced by media hype about global warming. To date it’s been endorsed by thousands of pastors, Christian leaders, policy-makers, and theologians, as well as a growing host of national and state organizations. Chuck Colson, James Dobson, and Richard Land are merely among the most prominent of its supporters.

The WeGetIt.org Declaration contradicts the story of evangelicals embracing the cause of stopping global warming that’s been carefully cultivated by a handful of prominent leaders in recent years, but it is entirely uncontroversial among rank and file evangelicals and, we believe, represents the mainstream of evangelical thought on these issues. The recent Barna poll merely bears out what studies have been showing right along (a recent study from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Calvin College’s 2008 National Survey on Religion and Public Life, and two Barna studies last winter): that evangelicals are the most skeptical segment in the American population about the human causes of climate change and about claims of its catastrophic effects.

Small but Strong: Malta and Fiji Stand Against UN's Abortion Pressure

Once again, the small nations of Malta and Fiji are standing strong and resolute against the pro-abortion pressures of the United Nations.

* “Malta firmly continues to maintain that any position taken or recommendations made regarding women empowerment and gender equality should not in any way create an obligation on any party to consider abortion as a legitimate form of reproductive health rights.” (The permanent representative of Malta, Ambassador Saviour F. Borg)

* Referring to the pro-family propositions in the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the organization's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Fiji's UN Ambassador Berenado Vunibobo argued for the “primacy of the family structure” and “the right of mothers and fathers to raise their children in accordance with their values and mores.” He went further to criticize population controllers “who would look at children’s ‘rights’ in isolation from the familial context, or seek to weaken the role of mothers and fathers in the care and upbringing of children.”

Piero Tozzi reports more for C-Fam right here.

And if you'd like to send along your gratitude and encouragement to these principled leaders, here's the contact info:

1) Ambassador Saviour Borg (saviour.f.borg@gov.mt)

2) Ambassador Berenado Vunibobo (mission@fijiprun.org)

"On Abortion and the African American Family" from Bishop Martin D. Holley

Here's Bishop Martin D. Holley's statement from earlier this week, "On Abortion and the African American Family." Bishop Holley is the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on African American Affairs for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is also a distinguished member of the Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Bishop Holley's statement is a terrific document to pass along to your other friends, whatever their race, ethnicity or political leanings. For what he says is of the utmost relevance to all Americans...and especially American Christians.

Here's the words from the brief but compelling document:

As an African American, I am saddened by evidence that Black women continue to be targeted by the abortion industry. A report issued recently by the Guttmacher Institute shows that Black women have abortions at five times the rate of white women. The loss of any child from abortion is a tragedy, but we must ask: Why are minority children being aborted at such disproportionate rates?

Many African Americans are not aware that since the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion throughout all 9 months of pregnancy, the number one cause of death in the African American community has been abortion. We have lost over 13 million lives. To put that in perspective, it is one third of our present Black population. Since 1973, twice as many Black Americans have died from abortion than from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined.

As I noted in my recent Respect Life Program article, "A Reflection on the African American Family and the Culture of Life," our legitimate commitment to other social concerns must not push the primary moral issue of abortion onto the back burner. It clearly must be at the heart and center of our discussion of the survival of African American people.

The Guttmacher Institute called on policy makers to “redouble their efforts to improve access to subsidized contraceptive services for these women.” Yet studies have shown that increased access to contraceptives, especially among teens, does not reduce unintended pregnancy and abortion. On the contrary, several studies link increased access to contraceptives to an increase in STDs, with no decrease in abortion rates.

As the research arm of Planned Parenthood, the Guttmacher Institute is shamelessly trying to build a case for receiving more of our taxpayer dollars. Every year the federal government gives over $300 million to Planned Parenthood. Last year for the first time, Planned Parenthood took in over one billion dollars and reported a profit of $51 million. I join my voice with others in the Black community who have called for the defunding of the abortion industry.

We must demand an end to the victimizing of African American children, women, families and communities by Planned Parenthood and others in the abortion industry. Over 80 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics are located in minority neighborhoods. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, began the “Negro Project” to reduce the Black population. We should be shocked and heartbroken by the findings of a recent phone investigation, that recorded a fundraiser at an Iowa Planned Parenthood clinic saying she was “very excited” about a donation specifically for aborting Black babies.

My brothers and sisters, we can overcome abortion in our nation. Let us defend our community by rededicating ourselves to family life and marriage, promoting the gift of chastity and marital fidelity, committing ourselves to prayer and service to others and defending the life and dignity of each human person. We can welcome every child as a gift and we can overcome abortion.

University of Nebraska Birthday Bash to Star Domestic Terrorist Bill Ayers

The University of Nebraska has invited the unrepentant domestic terrorist, leftist academician and Barack Obama pal Bill Ayers to deliver the keynote address at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Education and Human Sciences’ student research conference on November 15th. The conference is part of a two-day celebration honoring the college’s 100th anniversary.

The news that Ayers was tapped for the gig bothers several of the UNL Regents (not to mention, a whole lot of Nebraska taxpayers) but, not too surprising, Chancellor Harvey Perlman piously defended Ayers’ selection.

Said Perlman, “In this instance, it is unfortunate that a lecture directed toward an academic subject has become implicated in a political campaign. However, Professor Ayers is clearly regarded as a national expert in his field and can contribute to the understanding of this topic for our faculty and students. Nothing in his presence suggests that the university supports his personal or political philosophy or condones any of his former conduct.”

Good grief. Perlman didn't even have the decency to condemn Ayer's actions, acting as if Ayer's "personal or political philosophy" is the stuff of tea party conversation instead of what it was; namely, violent treason against the United States. And not only has Ayers continued over the years to defend his actions and other terrorism performed by the Weather Underground, he has recently stated that they "didn't do enough!"

In 2004, Ayers told an interviewer, "I’ve thought about this a lot. Being almost 60, it’s impossible to not have lots and lots of regrets about lots and lots of things, but the question of did we do something that was horrendous, awful?… I don’t think so...I don’t think what we did was extreme…We didn’t cross lines that were completely unacceptable. I don’t think so. We destroyed property in a fairly restrained level, given what we were up against."

Meanwhile, Marjorie Kostelnik, the dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences who made the invitation to Ayers, illustrated the irresponsible ignorance and leftist bias so dominant among America's academics as she responded to the storm of criticism, “We didn’t expect him to be such a lightning rod.”

On what planet do these guys live?

If you'd like to let UNL Chancellor Perlman know what you think about the Education College's birthday speaker, please be my guest. His e-mail address is hperlman1@unl.edu

Today's Posts

Politics: The Silly Season Isn't Silly Anymore

Fidel Castro Promotes Obama Again; Disses Palin as the Ignorant "Lady with the Rifles"

Well, Plants Are People Too

When Were Women Jailed for Abortion?

A Conservative's Tax Dollars Are Wanted at America's Universities...But Not A Conservative's Opinions

ACORN: Extortion, Coercion and Fraud

Politics: The Silly Season Isn't Silly Anymore

The silly season of electoral politics isn't merely silly when the stakes are so high, the ideologies so incredibly disparate, and the playing field so deliberately tilted in favor of one party. It's also terribly sad too.

You see it in big, bold ways like the debate last night and the subsequent spins of the MSM. But you see in a hundred small ways too.

* A Roman Catholic priest in our neighborhood declaring his indifference to the sanctity of life, marriage and even honesty as he proudly sports an Obama button.

* The fact that we have been told to take in our "McCain/Palin" and other political signs at night because they're being stolen and trashed all over town.

* One of the therapists who comes to my Mom's house being so uncaring and unprofessional as to pick a political fight with my frail and ailing mother. The theapist was aggressively pro-Obama and even more aggresively anti-Palin.

* Numerous reports from friends about unfairness, beligerence and a lack of rational civility in the workplace and at schools when it comes to political discourse.

* And the comment of a fellow at church last week, "At this point, I almost don't care who wins, as long as this thing is finally over."

Uh huh. Let's get back to normal. It's an understandable desire.

But when you remember (and you most definitely should remember) that the fellow likely to become the President of the United States is...an extremist on abortion, a milquetoast on military matters, an unrepentant socialist, an egotist with a very shady past, and a liar...well, I think we can consider what we've known as "normal" to be lost to us forever.

Fidel Castro Promotes Obama Again; Disses Palin as the Ignorant "Lady with the Rifles"

Hmm. Fidel Castro is backing Barack Obama for President.

Is that merely a statement of "guilt by association" or are there reasons to suspect some genuine ideological compatability?

Humberto Fontova thoughtfully considers the matter here at the American Thinker.

Well, Plants Are People Too

Folks, you can't make this stuff up.

Here's Wesley J. Smith's observations about how the Swiss constitution's respect for "the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms" has now been interpreted by government-appointed ethicists; namely, to protest the arbitrary "killing" of plants.

Yes, the newest fad in the West's passion to demean the uniqueness of man, its determination to denounce God by rejecting man's creation in His image, is to elevate the dignity of animals, plants and even the inanimate matter of our environment.

And the icing on this cake of irrationality, of course, is that the Swiss government approves of and even promotes both abortion and assisted suicide. Man can be so disrespected that he is arbitrarily killed. But take care of how you treat your oatmeal.

Don't miss Smith's article, "The Silent Scream of the Asparagus," over at The Weekly Standard.

When Were Women Jailed for Abortion?

You've heard it before and, in the heat of a political season, you're hearing it even more from Democrats, Planned Parenthood, Now and NARAL, and just about every other abortion-promoting group around, that a pro-life Supreme Court would not only reverse Roe v Wade but would start sending women who have had abortions to jail.

But that won't happen.

And, contrary to the abortionist rhetoric, it never did.

Here's an excellent article reviewing the matter from Clarke D. Forsythe, the Senior Counsel of Americans United for Life.