Friday, September 24, 2004
Joe Lockhart (again) of the Kerry Campaign, calls the Prime Minister of Iraq a puppet of George Bush:
"The last thing you want to be seen as is a puppet of the United States, and you can almost see the hand underneath the shirt today moving the lips," said Joe Lockhart, a senior Kerry adviser.
Right after President Bush accepted the Republican nomination at the RNC convention, Kerry bashed Bush in a midnight speech. Right after President Bush spoke before the United Nations, Kerry bashed Bush. Now right after the Prime Minister of Iraq spoke before Congress, Kerry and Lockhart both bashed Bush and the Prime Minister. The last one is the worst for me. Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi faces assassination every day, his country is fighting for its new life and he is trying to hold his people together... and the Kerry campaign calls him a puppet of the United States. In the Arab world you might as well have said Ayad Allawi is a puppet of the great satan.
Who do I turn to in order to complain. All I have is my vote... my one vote to cast against John Kerry and all he stands for. John Kerry says that in his personal life abortion is wrong, it is the taking of a life that began at conception, but it should be available for all women. Compare Iraq, the new Iraq, to a country at conception... Kerry says he believes that Iraq should be born, should be a democracy... but he does everything he can to abort the baby.
"The last thing you want to be seen as is a puppet of the United States, and you can almost see the hand underneath the shirt today moving the lips," said Joe Lockhart, a senior Kerry adviser.
Right after President Bush accepted the Republican nomination at the RNC convention, Kerry bashed Bush in a midnight speech. Right after President Bush spoke before the United Nations, Kerry bashed Bush. Now right after the Prime Minister of Iraq spoke before Congress, Kerry and Lockhart both bashed Bush and the Prime Minister. The last one is the worst for me. Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi faces assassination every day, his country is fighting for its new life and he is trying to hold his people together... and the Kerry campaign calls him a puppet of the United States. In the Arab world you might as well have said Ayad Allawi is a puppet of the great satan.
Who do I turn to in order to complain. All I have is my vote... my one vote to cast against John Kerry and all he stands for. John Kerry says that in his personal life abortion is wrong, it is the taking of a life that began at conception, but it should be available for all women. Compare Iraq, the new Iraq, to a country at conception... Kerry says he believes that Iraq should be born, should be a democracy... but he does everything he can to abort the baby.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
I sometimes have the NBC Today show on in the background in the morning because it's about the only good signal I can get of Interest. I had to turn it off today. First, the Interim Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi (who is in America to talk to Congress) was on, being interviewed by Tom Brokaw. The Prime Minister said that the American Media is overplaying the bad news in Iraq and underplaying the good news. Instead of discussing this in any meaningful way, Mr. Brokaw started listing every bad thing he could think of in Iraq. Instead of making any effort at all to take Allawi's criticism to heart, Brokaw threw every Democrat talking point into Allawi's face. "Don't you think more International Support is needed? (Kerry talking point) Don't you think your neighbors need to get involved? (Kerry talking point), etc. etc. etc.
Perhaps when Brokaw retires he can take his proper position with the DNC. Every time Allawi moved to talk about the rebuilding of the Iraq infrastruture and the new schools and the growing marketplace, Brokaw made Allawi's point in spades with more bad news.
Following Brokaw, Katie Couric interviewed the comedian who does the news on Comedy Central's cable channel (Jon Stewart). Stewart started providing much the same Democrat talking points about Iraq. I turned it off... I hear the Democrat talking points every day.
What about the Catholic talking points? I picked up a voter's guide at church the other day. Here are the Catholic non-negotiable talking points:
1. Don't vote for anyone who supports abortion.
2. Don't vote for anyone who supports euthanasia.
3. Don't vote for anyone who supports Fetal Stem Cell Research.
4. Don't vote for anyone who supports Human Cloning experimentation.
5. Don't vote for anyone who supports Gay Marriage.
I see a thread in those Catholic talking points. It's a thread of respect and reverence for life. I see that thread even in the item about Gay Marriage. If you watched, or heard, or read President Bush's speech to the United Nations the other day, you heard him talk about human dignity. Many on the Left and some on the Right believe that refusing to allow Gay people to marry is against human dignity. I do not see dignity in their sin anymore than I see dignity in my own.
Perhaps when Brokaw retires he can take his proper position with the DNC. Every time Allawi moved to talk about the rebuilding of the Iraq infrastruture and the new schools and the growing marketplace, Brokaw made Allawi's point in spades with more bad news.
Following Brokaw, Katie Couric interviewed the comedian who does the news on Comedy Central's cable channel (Jon Stewart). Stewart started providing much the same Democrat talking points about Iraq. I turned it off... I hear the Democrat talking points every day.
What about the Catholic talking points? I picked up a voter's guide at church the other day. Here are the Catholic non-negotiable talking points:
1. Don't vote for anyone who supports abortion.
2. Don't vote for anyone who supports euthanasia.
3. Don't vote for anyone who supports Fetal Stem Cell Research.
4. Don't vote for anyone who supports Human Cloning experimentation.
5. Don't vote for anyone who supports Gay Marriage.
I see a thread in those Catholic talking points. It's a thread of respect and reverence for life. I see that thread even in the item about Gay Marriage. If you watched, or heard, or read President Bush's speech to the United Nations the other day, you heard him talk about human dignity. Many on the Left and some on the Right believe that refusing to allow Gay people to marry is against human dignity. I do not see dignity in their sin anymore than I see dignity in my own.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Marriage or a Life of Sacrifice
Tonight's RCIA class was to attend a seminar given by our priest for all in our parish on marriage and annulment. Extra credit was given to high schoolers who attended, so there was a broad age range in attendance. It was a good discussion, with the high schoolers asking age appropriate questions like, "What about people who are insane or retarded," etc. and with older folks asking, "What if my divorce was 30 years ago and the witnesses can't be tracked down?" I think the pain and hurt in the voices of those who are no longer allowed to take part in the Eurcharist made an impression on those high school kids... maybe made them think about what marriage is all about.
Unlike the Methodist Faith I come from, the rules in the Catholic Church won't be changed anytime soon and the members know it. Divorce, Drinking, Swearing, Abortion even Card Playing were once considered evil, horrible things in the Methodist Church -- now only the oldest Methodists seem to be shocked by any of them. But when a member of the Catholic Church asks what a divorced Catholic who has remarried another divorced Catholic should do if they can't get an annulment and the priest says, "Live a life of sacrifice by not participating the Eucharist or else separate from your new partner..." Well, I feel like I'm in another age, an age where promises meant something, an age where words were not spoken lightly and Sacraments were taken seriously. Would I be where I am today, in this Catholic Church, if the Methodists weren't voting every four years on whether or not gay marriage is right or wrong? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Women weren't marching on Washington in support of choice? If the Methodist Men weren't sending letters of hate against George Bush? If the Global Church wasn't all for sending little boys back to their fathers in Cuba? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Church still held some kind of moral high ground on social issues? Probably not. They have done me a favor.
Unlike the Methodist Faith I come from, the rules in the Catholic Church won't be changed anytime soon and the members know it. Divorce, Drinking, Swearing, Abortion even Card Playing were once considered evil, horrible things in the Methodist Church -- now only the oldest Methodists seem to be shocked by any of them. But when a member of the Catholic Church asks what a divorced Catholic who has remarried another divorced Catholic should do if they can't get an annulment and the priest says, "Live a life of sacrifice by not participating the Eucharist or else separate from your new partner..." Well, I feel like I'm in another age, an age where promises meant something, an age where words were not spoken lightly and Sacraments were taken seriously. Would I be where I am today, in this Catholic Church, if the Methodists weren't voting every four years on whether or not gay marriage is right or wrong? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Women weren't marching on Washington in support of choice? If the Methodist Men weren't sending letters of hate against George Bush? If the Global Church wasn't all for sending little boys back to their fathers in Cuba? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Church still held some kind of moral high ground on social issues? Probably not. They have done me a favor.
So now CBS is acting as an advisor to the Kerry campaign?
The article says that CBS called Joe Lockhart, an advisor to Kerry, and asked Lockhart to call Burkett (he of the forged documents) so that Burkett would offer advice to John Kerry on how to fight off the Vietnam questions. Why would CBS provide this service to the Kerry camp? Why would the Kerry camp call whoever CBS told them to call? It's all too cozy, isn't it.
The article says that CBS called Joe Lockhart, an advisor to Kerry, and asked Lockhart to call Burkett (he of the forged documents) so that Burkett would offer advice to John Kerry on how to fight off the Vietnam questions. Why would CBS provide this service to the Kerry camp? Why would the Kerry camp call whoever CBS told them to call? It's all too cozy, isn't it.
