God and Government

Democrats open faith-filled convention with prayer

Yahoo News

DENVER - At the first official event Sunday of the Democratic National Convention, a choir belted out a gospel song and was followed by a rabbi reciting a Torah reading about forgiveness and the future. Helen Prejean, the Catholic nun who wrote "Dead Man Walking," assailed the death penalty and the use of torture. Young Muslim women in headscarves sat near older African-American women in their finest Sunday hats. Four years ago, such a scene would have been unthinkable at a Democratic National Convention. In 2004, there was one interfaith lunch at the Democratic gala in Boston. But that same year, "values voters" helped re-elect President Bush, giving Democrats of faith the opening they needed to make party leaders listen to them.

Obama Targets The Faithful

The Bulletin

On the second day of a weeklong national tour to highlight his values, Barack Obama brought his message of faith to the battleground state of Ohio in an attempt to court modern evangelicals who are infusing their Christian worldview with issues of AIDs, poverty, global warming, and other issues of social justice. "Now, I know there are some who bristle at the notion that faith has a place in the public square," Mr. Obama said yesterday. "But the fact is leaders in both parties have recognized the value of a partnership between the White House and faith-based groups." A day after defending his patriotism in Independence, Mo., Mr. Obama traveled to Zanesville, Ohio to speak to the Eastside Community Ministry, a program that provides food, shelter and youth services to those in need. Mr. Obama used the speech to unveil a proposal to get more religious charities involved in solving the many problems facing the nation.

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Charl Van Wyk, Pastor/Author, “Shooting Back–The Right & Duty of Self-Defence"
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions

Former screen siren Bardot convicted in race case

Yahoo News

PARIS - Brigitte Bardot was convicted Tuesday of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying France. A Paris court also handed down a $23,325 fine against the former screen siren and animal rights campaigner. The court also ordered Bardot to pay $1,555 in damages to MRAP. Bardot's lawyer, Francois-Xavier Kelidjian, said he would talk to her about the possibility of an appeal. A leading French anti-racism group known as MRAP filed a lawsuit last year over a letter she sent to then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. The remarks were published in her foundation's quarterly journal. In the December 2006 letter to Sarkozy, now the president, Bardot said France is "tired of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts." Bardot, 73, was referring to the Muslim feast of Aid el-Kebir, celebrated by slaughtering sheep. French anti-racism laws prevent inciting hatred and discrimination on racial or religious or racial grounds. Bardot had been convicted four times previously for inciting racial hatred.

Bullet 333Zakariah Anani, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Joel Anderson, Assemblyman, California State Assembly
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Major Eric Egland, Author, The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help...
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jan Markell, President, Olive Tree Ministries
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Kamal Saleem, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Walid Shoebat, President, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Charl Van Wyk, Pastor/Author, “Shooting Back–The Right & Duty of Self-Defence"
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions

Obama defends response to Wright

Politico

It was the kind of Sunday morning tailor-made for a DVR. Just two days before the crucial Indiana and North Carolina primaries, Sen. Barack Obama sat for an hourlong interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” dominated by questions about his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, appeared in a wide-ranging town hall forum in Indiana on ABC’s “This Week.” On NBC, Obama (D-Ill.) admitted that the controversy surrounding Wright “distracted” his campaign. Instead of talking about the economy, the Iraq war and other pressing issues, “we spent a lot of time talking about Rev. Wright. ... It wasn’t welcome.”

High court considers religous display rules

USA Today

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to look at when cities can keep certain religious displays off public grounds, revisiting an enduring free speech issue in a case brought by the unconventional Summum faith. The Summum church wants to erect a monument of its "seven aphorisms" near a Ten Commandments monument in a Utah park. Government regulation of expressive displays on public grounds has become one of the most controversial areas of the law. The questions test the constitutional guarantee of free speech and, often, the separation of church and state.

Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Charl Van Wyk, Pastor/Author, “Shooting Back–The Right & Duty of Self-Defence"
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions

Homeschoolers' setback sends shock waves through state

San Francisco Chronicle

A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution. The homeschooling movement never saw the case coming. "At first, there was a sense of, 'No way,' " said homeschool parent Loren Mavromati, a resident of Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) who is active with a homeschool association. "Then there was a little bit of fear. I think it has moved now into indignation." The ruling arose from a child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Philip and Mary Long of Lynwood, who have been homeschooling their eight children. Mary Long is their teacher, but holds no teaching credential. The parents said they also enrolled their children in Sunland Christian School, a private religious academy in Sylmar (Los Angeles County), which considers the Long children part of its independent study program and visits the home about four times a year. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home.

NewsGuests.Com will be at CPAC

NewsGuests.Com representatives, Debbie Hamilton and Felicia Horton will be attending CPAC 2008. Clients available for media interviews: Colin Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring, and Moderator for CPAC's seminar, A Conservative Approach to Health Care Reform. Ralf Augstroze, Executive Director of The Providence Forum, a non-profit corporation whose mission is to re-instill and promote a Judeo-Christian worldview within American culture and to advance faith, ethics and moral values. Contact Information: Debbie Hamilton (215)815-7716 Felicia Horton (484)653-8787 NewsGuests.Com, (800)486-0176

Sarkozy sparks French debate over God and faith

Reuters

PARIS - President Nicolas Sarkozy's increasingly frequent and positive references to God and faith have drawn fire from critics who accuse him of violating France's separation of church and state. Sarkozy, a taboo-breaker whose whirlwind love life has distracted the media for weeks, broke with traditional presidential reserve about religion to stress France's Christian roots in a speech in a Rome basilica just before Christmas. In Riyadh on Monday, he hailed Islam as "one of the greatest and most beautiful civilisations the world has known" and described his Saudi hosts as rulers who "appeal to the basic values of Islam to combat the fundamentalism that negates them". His praise for a kingdom that enforces and propagates a strict version of Islam, during a visit aimed at securing lucrative export contracts, was the last straw for his critics. "This is not respect for the separation of church and state," Socialist opposition leader Francois Hollande said.

Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Charl Van Wyk, Pastor/Author, “Shooting Back–The Right & Duty of Self-Defence"
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions
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