President Obama and Hillary Clinton both spoke briefly at the National Prayer Breakfast about Ugandan legislation to make homosexuality a crime in Uganda, a crime that could draw the death penalty for "serial offenders." The hidden message is: Christians are behind the Ugandan bill to oppress gays, but he makes no mention of the most torrid gay-haters of all time - Islam. Bash Christians at the National Day of Prayer breakfast, ignore Islamic hate - go figure. See the transcript of Obama's Prayer Breakfast speech below commentary.
Religion in Uganda is divided almost equally between Catholics and Protestants, with 42% each. Twelve percent of the population is Muslim. This Ugandan bill was introduced by David Bahati, who may ties with a controversial Christian group known as The Family. Throughout Islam, homosexuality is punishable by death, although that punishment is not always carried out. Eighty-three countries have laws against homosexuality. Of the 83, 26 are Muslim countries. Seven countries carry the death penalty for "homosexual acts," but...Sharia Law allows the death penalty, at all times.
Obama's message today was subtle. You may have missed it. Leave it to Barack Obama to put the spotlight on Christianity, when
it comes to the oppression of gays, but never mentions the heinous
crimes against homosexuals by Muslim countries - the only countries where the call for discrimination and, often death, is loud and clear.
Homosexuals die in Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and thoughtout the Muslim world. Has the President ever condemned them? Iran's President Achmadinejad recently said there "are no homosexuals in Iran." Here's why.
If gay communities everywhere were to be a part of the President's comments today, then it was appropriate to bring up Uganda's Anti-Homosexual legislation, specifically because it calls for the death penalty, but why not call out Islam, and it's routine torture, imprisonment, and death of gays. Why not ask our Nation to pray for the safety of homosexuals throughout the world, and from the podium at the National Day of Prayer Breakfast, call out Iran, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, where the citizens often take over the punishment, saving the government the bother.
In today's speech, more than once, he hinted at Christian intolerance. Who do you think he is talking about with this quote:
For centuries, entire religions have been persecuted, all in the name
of perceived righteousness.
Citing the "Golden Rule" and the words of Jesus to 'Love our
neighbors as we love ourselves," he quoted an Islamic hadith that
cites brotherhood, but ignores that non-believers cannot be brothers
with a Muslim. He said there is no religion having a central tenant of
hate...but ignores the fact that jihad is called for against any
non-believer. He ignores that you and I are non-believers.
Off-topic only a slight bit, but nevertheless relevant, is Obama's failure to call out Palestinian laws that call for the extinction of Jews...the death of Jews. It's no different than the call for death to homosexuals. While demanding a two-state solution in Palestine, with Israel giving up their land in exchange for a peaceful relationship with Palestinians, has Obama, or our State Department, pointed out that Palestinian Constitutions and Charters simply do not allow such a relationship with Israel... or admitted that the "solution" is folly because of the unmitigated hatred from one people toward another people? No he has not.
Other comments in this speech are just as disingenuous. He said our faith requires us not only to believe:
...but to do - to give something of ourselves for the benefit of others
and the betterment of our world.
He thinks
we do not give, yet the records show that he and Michelle gave next to nothing in years 2000-2004, even though he was an Illinois Senator for three of these year. In 2005 he gave 4% and in 2006 6.7% of his adjusted gross income - as he eyed the presidential campaign trail for 2007. See
The TaxProf Blog for how uncharitable this power couple were. And now he denigrates our lack of giving something of ourselves.
In Obama's new budget released this week, he is trying to reduce or do away with tax deductions for charitable giving, and in a speech he accused parents of spending tuition money on gambling in Las Vegas! He thinks we do nothing! The betterment of our world, in The Time of Obama, is directing and instructing ACORN, and moving incredible powers into the hands of organizations like them. Believe me, the agenda here is to force all "giving" from the government. if passed, the new budget will bring $291 billion to government coffers, from what was once a deduction to you, over the next ten years. Congress shot this down early last year.
Here it is back again.
The White House is expecting to collect an additional $291 billion over
the next decade by reducing the write-off for families earning over
$250,000 despite the fact Congress roundly rejected such a measure last
year. While the administration is portraying this as a populist move, experts have said the end result will be a significant blow to charities and non-profits already reeling in the midst of the recession.
Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center said the
rule change would make it about 10 percent more expensive for
individuals affected to donate to charity. He estimated that would
correspond to a $10 billion drop in donations out of the $300 billion
Americans give annually.
But here is Obama's real agenda, his secret agenda: enslave the people. Make them come to the government for everything:
Last year the Obama administration defended the move, claiming that the
$100 million included in the Recovery Act for charities and non-profits
would help cover the gap, along with the natural rise in donations
following the economic recovery. Those arguments will be even tougher
to make this year with the country still mired in double-digit
unemployment and no second stimulus for charities in the works.
I think that can be a naive view, that charities will be specifically
helped by getting potential government dollars instead of private
dollars they are getting right now,” Riley said. “The idea that private
money will be replaced by growth that may or may not happen, government
programs that may or may not happen, seems at best a risky bet.”
Okay, that's my rant. Here's the transcript:
Good morning. I want to thank the Co-Chairs of this breakfast,
Representatives Heath Shuler and Vernon Ehlers. I’d also like to thank
Tony Blair for coming today, as well as our Vice President, Joe Biden,
members of my Cabinet, members of Congress, clergy, friends, and
dignitaries from across the world.
Michelle and I are honored
to join you in prayer this morning. I know this breakfast has a long
history in Washington, and faith has always been a guiding force in our
family’s life, so we feel very much at home and look forward to keeping
this tradition alive during our time here.
It’s a tradition that I’m told actually began many years ago in the
city of Seattle. It was the height of the Great Depression, and most
people found themselves out of work. Many fell into poverty. Some lost
everything.
The leaders of the community did all that they could for those who were
suffering in their midst. And then they decided to do something more:
they prayed. It didn’t matter what party or religious affiliation to
which they belonged. They simply gathered one morning as brothers and
sisters to share a meal and talk with God.
These breakfasts soon sprouted up throughout Seattle, and quickly
spread to cities and towns across America, eventually making their way
to Washington. A short time after President Eisenhower asked a group of
Senators if he could join their prayer breakfast, it became a national
event. And today, as I see presidents and dignitaries here from every
corner of the globe, it strikes me that this is one of the rare
occasions that still brings much of the world together in a moment of
peace and goodwill.
I raise this history because far too often, we have seen faith wielded
as a tool to divide us from one another - as an excuse for prejudice
and intolerance. Wars have been waged. Innocents have been slaughtered.
For centuries, entire religions have been persecuted, all in the name
of perceived righteousness.
There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some of our
beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. We follow
different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how we came to
be here and where we’re going next - and some subscribe to no faith at
all.
But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is
no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones
taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.
We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law that binds
all great religions together. Jesus told us to "love thy neighbor as
thyself." The Torah commands, "That which is hateful to you, do not do
to your fellow." In Islam, there is a hadith that reads "None of you
truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for
himself." And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers
of Confucius and for humanists. It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the
call to love one another; to understand one another; to treat with
dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this
Earth.
It is an ancient rule; a simple rule; but also one of
the most challenging. For it asks each of us to take some measure of
responsibility for the well-being of people we may not know or worship
with or agree with on every issue. Sometimes, it asks us to reconcile
with bitter enemies or resolve ancient hatreds. And that requires a
living, breathing, active faith. It requires us not only to believe,
but to do - to give something of ourselves for the benefit of others
and the betterment of our world.
In this way, the particular faith that motivates each of us can promote
a greater good for all of us. Instead of driving us apart, our varied
beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the
afflicted; to make peace where there is strife and rebuild what has
broken; to lift up those who have fallen on hard times. This is not
only our call as people of faith, but our duty as citizens of America,
and it will be the purpose of the White House Office of Faith-Based and
Neighborhood Partnerships that I’m announcing later today.
The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over
another - or even religious groups over secular groups. It will simply
be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf
of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our
founders wisely drew between church and state. This work is important,
because whether it’s a secular group advising families facing
foreclosure or faith-based groups providing job-training to those who
need work, few are closer to what’s happening on our streets and in our
neighborhoods than these organizations.
People trust them. Communities rely on them. And we will help them.
We will also reach out to leaders and scholars around the world to
foster a more productive and peaceful dialogue on faith. I don’t expect
divisions to disappear overnight, nor do I believe that long-held views
and conflicts will suddenly vanish. But I do believe that if we can
talk to one another openly and honestly, then perhaps old rifts will
start to mend and new partnerships will begin to emerge. In a world
that grows smaller by the day, perhaps we can begin to crowd out the
destructive forces of zealotry and make room for the healing power of
understanding.
This is my hope. This is my prayer.
I believe this good is possible because my faith teaches me that all is
possible, but I also believe because of what I have seen and what I
have lived.
I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had a father
who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were
non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical
of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual
person I’ve ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to
love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done.
I didn’t become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the
South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of
indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after
month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who
were down on their luck - no matter what they looked like, or where
they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in
those neighborhoods, that I first heard God’s spirit beckon me. It was
there that I felt called to a higher purpose - His purpose.
In different ways and different forms, it is that spirit and sense of
purpose that drew friends and neighbors to that first prayer breakfast
in Seattle all those years ago, during another trying time for our
nation. It is what led friends and neighbors from so many faiths and
nations here today. We come to break bread and give thanks and seek
guidance, but also to rededicate ourselves to the mission of love and
service that lies at the heart of all humanity. As St. Augustine once
said, "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though
everything depended on you."
So let us pray together on this
February morning, but let us also work together in all the days and
months ahead. For it is only through common struggle and common effort,
as brothers and sisters, that we fulfill our highest purpose as beloved
children of God. I ask you to join me in that effort, and I also ask
that you pray for me, for my family, and for the continued perfection
of our union. Thank you.
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