What I like about this is that Santorum didn’t worry about the political optics (offending non-Christians) and just went with it. I’m not a Santorum supporter but I do appreciate his authenticity. Santorum is a devout Catholic and doesn’t shy away from his faith.

But as Right Scoop points out, it’s curious that ABC ignored Santorum’s speech in front of these pastors but aired the prayer in full. I think it was the media’s way of showing how strange these “faith people” are. What they fail to realize is that this is only strange to people who live in Hollywood and Manhattan.

This article titled “Obama’s contraception rules under fire from Congress and religious groups” was written by Chris McGreal in Washington, for The Guardian on Thursday 9th February 2012 00.24 UTC

Barack Obama has come under a barrage of criticism from Congress and religious organisations over a new requirement that Catholic-run schools and hospitals provide free contraception to workers.

The issue has ballooned into a political confrontation that appears to mark out one of the battle lines for the presidential election campaign. The Republicans said the new regulation is further evidence that the president is “hostile to people of faith”. Democrats claimed that opposition to it is another front in the Republicans’ “war on women’s health”.

The newly announced regulation, which takes effect in 18 months, says that all health insurance plans provided by employers must offer birth control to women free of charge. It applies equally to Catholic-owned universities, medical establishments and charities.

As the Catholic church loudly denounced the rule, Republican opposition focused on whether a religious organisation opposed to contraception could be forced by the government to go against its principles.

Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential candidate who is a convert to Catholicism, called the regulation an “attack on the Catholic church”. Two of the other candidates, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, were also strongly critical.

John Boehner, the Republican and Catholic speaker of the House of Representatives, called the White House move a breach of constitutional protections against government interference with religion.

“In recent days, Americans of every faith and political persuasion have mobilised in objection to a rule put forth by the Obama administration that constitutes an unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country,” he said. “This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country cannot stand, and will not stand.”

Republican leaders said they would push legislation to block the requirement.

The Catholic archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, said that the government’s attempts to force the new regulation on his church had prompted outrage from people of all faiths.

“The more people learn what is at stake here, the more people are speaking up. It’s not just a Catholic issue. It’s an issue that touches all faith based communities, all religions, all organisations that draw their inspiration from their faith. I think what’s happening across the country is that the more people learn about this mandate, the more they’re saying this is wrong,” he said.

Obama also came under criticism from some Democrats, including the former Virginia governor, Timothy Kaine, who is running for the Senate and is a close ally of the president. He said that it was a political misstep.

“The White House made a good decision in including a mandate for contraception coverage in the Affordable Care Act insurance policy, but I think they made a bad decision in not allowing a broad enough religious employer exemption,” he said. “I have definitely expressed my grave concerns to the White House about that.”

The White House signalled on Wednesday that it may be prepared to reach a compromise, but there were also signs that the administration is not unhappy to fight a political battle in an election year over a social issue likely to see many independent voters, particularly women, side with the president.

Some critics said that Obama may have misstepped in alienating large numbers of Catholic voters who, while many do not follow their church’s teachings on contraception, object to the government forcing it to go against its beliefs. They also said that it would have a negative impact on voters from other religions and again fire up Christian evangelicals who are ambivalent about the prospect of Romney as the Republican presidential candidate.

Peggy Noonan, a former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, wrote in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that Obama has committed an inept faux pas that showed how removed he is from the “essential realities of America”, and that it could cost him the presidential election.

But Obama also has an interest in keeping issues such as access to contraception on the political agenda, especially if he faces Romney as the Republican presidential candidate.

When Romney was governor of Massachusetts in 2005, a new state law required all hospitals, including Catholic-run ones, to provide morning after pills to rape victims, which the Catholic church regards as a form of abortion. Romney said he opposed the law but he was also quoted at the time as saying: “My personal view, in my heart of hearts, is that people who are subject to rape should have the option of having emergency contraception or emergency contraception information.”

The White House flagged up that the issue will be a political battleground when Obama’s spokesman, Jay Carney, said that it is “ironic that Mitt Romney is criticising the president” for a regulation that is similar to the one in Massachusetts.

“The former governor of Massachusetts is an odd messenger on this given that the services that would be provided to women under this rule are the same services that are provided in Massachusetts and were covered when he was governor,” he said.

The issue is also likely to play in to concerns about Republican attitudes toward women after the furore around the politically-driven attempt by the Susan G Komen for the Cure foundation to halt grants to Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions.

The controversy may not do the damage to Catholic support for Obama that the Republicans hope.

A poll released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute showed that more than half of Catholic voters agree that employers should be required to provide their workers with healthcare insurance that covers contraception. However, only 45% supported the requirement for religiously affiliated colleges and hospitals to do so while 52% oppose it.

Carney hinted that the White House may give ground, but not much.

“We want to work with all these organisations to implement this policy in a way that is as sensitive to their concerns as possible,” he said. “But let’s be clear: We are committed, the president is committed, to ensuring that women have access to contraception without paying any extra costs, no matter where they work.”

One compromise under discussion is permitting church employers to effectively subcontract the part of health insurance covering contraception to an alternative insurer.

The administration has previously rejected another proposal that would broaden the definition of a religious employer beyond the churches themselves to include schools and hospitals.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

That asshole had it coming! And it makes for pretty good television, no?

A Muslim man in Phoenix, Arizona decided his 20-year old daughter had become “too westernized” and needed to die. So he ran her over with his truck. When the police informed the mother of what happened she defended her husband and agreed her daughter should die. Police could not tell anyone in the girl’s family where she was or what hospital for fear that they might show up and try to finish her off.

The girl eventually died.

And Muslims wonder they’re singled out. They wonder why we don’t want their freaking Mosques showing up everywhere. Islam is a fanatical death cult and is and a shit stain on this world. These people are bringing their savagery and barbarism to America and it’s a disgrace.

This article titled “Rick Perry’s call to prayer draws crowd of 30,000″ was written by Ewen MacAskill in Houston, for The Guardian on Sunday 7th August 2011 17.18 UTC

It was billed as a day of prayer and fasting to halt America’s national decline, and about 30,000 answered the call, flooding into Houston’s Reliant stadium for a seven-hour marathon which blended Christian revivalism with hard-headed electoral campaigning.

There was plenty of prayer: some of the faithful stood with arms held high in supplication, others danced trancelike in the aisles and still more lay spreadeagled on the floor.

The fasting was less conspicuous: long queues formed at Prince’s Hamburgers, Tejas Nachos, Five Star Dogs and other fast-food stands inside the cavernous arena.

The rally on Saturday marked another step towards the launch of Rick Perry’s presidential campaign, giving the governor of Texas a national platform for the first time, with 250 reporters and camera crews covering it.

More importantly, it virtually guaranteed him the support of the Christian evangelical movement, with its network of volunteers and finance, plus a large bloc of votes in Republican caucuses and primaries.

Perry, 61, who is in his third full term as governor, has still not officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination. But whenever he does – he is expected to declare his intentions this month – he will likely become the frontrunner for the nomination to take on Barack Obama next year.

“I would vote for him. I would vote for him out of all the Republican candidates,” said Buzz Park amid an audience which included youth groups, soccer moms and Christian bikers. “He is not afraid to say this is a problem and this is how to fix it. Obama is not a leader.”

Park said America was in decline economically and morally, and losing its influence abroad. “The nation that forgets God is turned into hell,” he said. God had promised that through prayer this could be reversed, healing the land. Had this been successful before? Park cited Fiji in the 1990s and revivalist meetings in Wales around 1900.

The rally originated in December when Perry called for Christians across the US to join him in Houston and invited the other 49 state governors to attend. Organisers put the attendance at about 30,000, less than half the capacity of the 71,000-seater stadium. The only other governor to turn up was Sam Brownback from Kansas.

The turnout was higher than some had expected but was still quite low given that Houston is the fourth-largest city in the US and a large proportion profess to be Christian. Some of America’s megachurches attract 30,000 or more every Sunday. But Perry showed no sign of disappointment. He seemed happier and more enthusiastic preaching in Houston than he had when delivering a political speech at the Republicans’ southern conference in New Orleans in June. He finished his 13-minute sermon with a smile and a clenched fist.

“Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government, and as a nation we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for your forgiveness,” Perry said.

His rhetorical style is derived from the tent preachers of the Old West, and the crowd stood enthusiastically throughout, responding with amens.

Much of secular and liberal America watches anxiously at the prospect of another Texas president tied to the Christian evangelical movement. That unease is shared by progressive Christians who fear Perry is identifying with the most conservative church leaders.

The American Family Association (AFA), which runs a network of 200 radio stations – and which has been labelled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Centre for its attitude to gay people – contributed an estimated $1m towards the cost of the rally.

The Cornerstone Church – whose leader, John Hagee, gained notoriety for declaring that Hurricane Katrina was God’s vengeance on a sinful New Orleans and suggesting that Jews had brought the Holocaust on themselves – sent about 700 members, travelling from San Antonio by car and bus.

Elva Spoor said she had come with the Cornerstone delegation so “God can bless us and give us rain and turn the nation back to God”. But what about gay people? “God says he loves everyone but he hates the sin,” said Spoor. “God says it is an aberration to him.”

John McCain, the previous Republican presidential candidate, had an uneasy relationship with Christian evangelicals, initially ignoring them and then seeking out their support. But he drew the line at Hagee and refused to accept his endorsement.

Until a last-minute change of running-order, Hagee was scheduled to speak directly after Perry. Hagee steered away from controversial subjects and offered prayers for the nation’s leaders, before comparing Perry to Abraham Lincoln.

“We pray for our governor Rick Perry who has had the courage today to call this time of fasting and prayer just as Abraham Lincoln did in the darkest days of the civil war,” Hagee said.

The event provoked a backlash in Texas, including a lawsuit by atheists aimed at stopping it, charging that Perry was in breach of the separation of politics and religion. On Saturday, a plane flew over the stadium with a banner with the same message about separation of politics and religion. Other Christian churches held alternative prayer meetings on Friday and Saturday.

Among about 150 protesters outside the stadium was Pastor Katherine Godby. Carrying a poster saying “Hate Is Not A Gospel Value”, she expressed sadness that Perry had aligned himself with the AFA.

Godby, of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Fort Worth, said: “We see their portrayal of the gospel as one of exclusion and hatred.”

Jennifer Stephenson, a mother of three from San Antonio carrying a “Christians Against Perry” placard, described the attitude of groups such as the AFA as “un-Christian”.

She was worried that disillusionment with Obama among leftwing voters might open the way for a possible Perry presidency. “I think Perry has a good chance, unfortunately. He is good-looking, brought a lot of jobs to this state and has got a lot of Christians behind him,” she said. “The Christian voting bloc is a force to contend with.”

Perry’s previous attempts to invoke a higher power suggest that there are limits to the power of prayer. In April, he declared a three-day vigil for rain in Texas. But those prayers have so far gone unanswered, and the state is still suffering its worst drought since 1895.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

This article titled “Priest known for extreme views invited to European parliament by MEPs” was written by Rajeev Syal, for The Guardian on Tuesday 21st June 2011 22.19 UTC

A controversial Polish priest known for running a radio station which regularly broadcasts anti-semitic and homophobic views attended the European parliament on Tuesday at the invitation of politicians from a conservative group in Europe, the Guardian has learned.

Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, whose Radio Maryja station has been criticised by the Vatician, former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and Jewish organisations for its extreme views, was invited to attend by Polish MEPs from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

His attendance provoked a surprising outburst from British MEP TImothy Kirkhope, the deputy chairman of the ECR group, who said that he was disappointed not to have been told in advance that such a controversial figure had been invited to attend by fellow MEPs.

“I have never met this gentleman, but he is a controversial figure who has reportedly promoted homophobia and anti-semitism.

“I will be raising this invitation with the group at the earliest opportunity. In future, an invitation should be authorised before being issued using the ECR’s name,” he said.

Kirkhope, who is a leading member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, said he did not know if the ECR’s funds had been used to bring Rydzyk to the European parliament. “Who knows [whether the group's funds were used], this raises a number of issues which need to be discussed at length,” he added.

Rydzyk appeared at a four-hour conference to discuss climate change and renewable energy. The event was organised at the European parliament by Marek Grobarczyk and Tomasz Poreba, two Polish MEPs who are members of the ECR. A British MEP, Julie Girling, was supposed to speak at the meeting, but pulled out at short notice, insiders said.

Rydzyk, the owner of Radio Maryja, was named the sixth most influential man in Poland last year by one newspaper, because of the radio station’s popularity with rural, ultra-conservative communities.

Radio Maryja has been at the centre of criticism and controversy since it was established 11 years ago, with critics arguing that it is vehemently anti-semitic, homophobic and xenophobic.

In January 2000, a guest “historian” from a Catholic university claimed that Auschwitz was not an extermination camp but a large labour camp for Jews.

In 2007, on tapes released by the weekly magazine Wprost, a voice alleged to be Rydzyk’s was heard accusing the then president, Lech Kaczynski, of being in the pocket of Poland’s Jewish community.

“You know what this is about: Poland giving [the Jews] bn (£40bn).

“They [the Jews] will come to you and say: ‘Give me your coat! Take off your trousers! Give me your shoes!’” Rydzyk is alleged to have said, according to the magazine. Rydzyk has refused to deny making the comments, according to the BBC.

Rydzyk has been described as a “kingmaker” in Poland. Last year, he reportedly struck a deal with the Law and Justice Party in which his supporters will make up 50% of the party’s candidates in Poland’s general election, due this year, in return for his backing.

Polish members of the ECR last night stood by the invitation. One told the Guardian: “He [Rydzyk] is misunderstood. He is a very good priest and his views are held by many in Poland.”

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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Take a listen to this Lebanese Christian immigrant who lives in Dearborn, Michigan. For those unfamiliar, Dearborn has the highest concentration of Muslim immigrants in the United States. This guy says he’s constantly discriminated against in Dearborn because he’s a Christian. Nearly everyone in Dearborn is a Muslim including the police.

(H/T Conurls)

This interview is from last year, but it’s so powerful I had to post it. Mosab Hassan Yousef’s father is the founder of terrorist group Hamas. Mosab worked undercover for Israeli intelligence for 10 years. He converted to Christianity and now lives in California. He says Islam is a devil religion and the “Prophet” Mohammad is a liar.

If you haven’t read Mosab’s book, Son of Hamas, it’s a MUST READ.

I’m not sure what set him off, but Florida Pastor Terry Jones finally had his Koran burning.

This article titled “Pakistani Christians protest after assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti” was written by Declan Walsh in Islamabad, for The Guardian on Thursday 3rd March 2011 16.29 UTC

Hundreds of Christians have taken to the streets of Pakistan in protest at the assassination of the minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, who was gunned down outside his home on Wednesday.

As the government declared three days of mourning, demonstrations were held across Punjab, where the Christian community is concentrated, with protesters burning tyres and demanding justice.

Such a show of anger is rare among Pakistan’s Christian minority, who enjoy little political power and are more often in the news as victims of violence from Muslim extremists. One of the largest crowds gathered in Gojra, in Punjab, where nine Christians were killed – seven of them burned alive – in 2009.

“This is such a black situation. We request the whole of humanity to do something for us,” said Yousaf Nishan, brother-in-law of Bhatti, who was the only Christian in the cabinet.

Bhatti was shot as he travelled to a cabinet meeting by killers who claimed to be affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaida. It was the country’s second political assassination in two months: the Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was killed, also in Islamabad, on 4 January.

A dark tone pervaded reaction in the media. “Death of a state” was the editorial headline in the Express Tribune. “A graveyard for lunatics” read a despondent post on the Café Pyala blog.

“The killers may have escaped the scene of the crime but the real culprit is known to all: an extremist mindset that has, with the sponsorship of some institutions of the state, spread far and wide,” wrote Dawn newspaper.

References to “institutions” are usually a euphemism for the military’s powerful intelligence agencies that nurtured select jihadist groups in the 80s and 90s and, according to western officials, still do today.

The depth of the “extremist mindset” became evident after Taseer’s assassination, when lawyers showered his assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, with rose petals and 40,000 supporters filled a Karachi street.

Two weeks ago media reports said Qadri, who faces possible execution, was sent scores of Valentine’s Day cards.

The question is whether the reaction to Bhatti’s death will be any different. The early signs are not encouraging.

President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to combat the forces of obscurantism. “We will not be intimidated nor will we retreat,” he told the state news agency.

But many opposition leaders offered a muted response to Bhatti’s death, condemning the violence but offering little of the fiery rhetoric that normally characterises political discourse in Pakistan.

When the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, led a two-minute silence in parliament, three members of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam party remained seated.

“I am afraid that this could be an American conspiracy to defame the government of Pakistan, Muslims and Islam,” Rafi Usmani, the grand mufti of Pakistan, told AP.

Mainstream leaders are afraid of speaking out on the blasphemy law, which is considered politically toxic and potentially life-threatening among politicians.

Bhatti had, at one point, championed reform of the draconian law, although the ruling Pakistan People’s party of which he was a member rejected any change.

Analyst Mosharraf Zaidi called for an “urgent rehabilitation” of Pakistani society. “Bhatti’s murder is an unmitigated outrage, and Pakistan must start by acknowledging this,” he wrote.

But appetite for self-reflection appears limited. In Islamabad, where Bhatti was killed, just 60 people gathered outside a shopping market in pouring rain for a candlelit vigil, chanting: “We want peace”.

Pakistani society is nominally caste-free, but anti-Christian prejudices run deep, with Christians largely confined to low-paying jobs. Some Muslims refuse to eat food cooked by Christians, considering it unclean.

Bhatti, 42, was an exception to the rule. His funeral is due to take place at his home village near Faisalabad, 160 miles south of Islamabad, on Friday.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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