Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting

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From NBC Chicago
By Robert A. George

President Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.

After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That's the least that should occur.

Indeed, an argument could be made that Obama should have canceled the Indian event, out of respect for people having been murdered at an Army post a few hours before. That would have prevented any sort of jarring emotional switch at the event.

Did the president's team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment? The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on -- and the initial words coming out of their president's mouth was jolting, if not disturbing.

It must have been disappointing for many politically aware Democrats, still reeling from the election two days before. The New Jersey gubernatorial vote had already demonstrated that the president and his political team couldn't produce a winning outcome in a state very friendly to Democrats (and where the president won by 15 points one year ago). And now this? Congressional Democrats must wonder if a White House that has burdened them with a too-heavy policy agenda over the last year has a strong enough political operation to help push that agenda through.

If the president's communications apparatus can't inform -- and protect -- their boss during tense moments when the country needs to see a focused commander-in-chief and a compassionate head of state, it has disastrous consequences for that president's party and supporters.

All the president's men (and women) fell down on the job Thursday. And Democrats across the country have real reason to panic.

New York writer Robert A. George blogs at Ragged Thots. Follow him on Twitter.

A Catholic Among the Evangelicals

From First Things
By Gerardine Luongo

In 2005 I accepted a position at CURE International, an evangelical mission organization. Today I serve as CURE’s director of government and foundation relations. At first blush, my story appears unexceptional—until I add that I am a Catholic. CURE’s motto is “Healing changes everything,” and the organization is devoted to overcoming brokenness on many levels. Although I did ponder the implications of accepting such a position, I must admit I was in no way prepared for the ramifications this job would have on my life. My experience at CURE clearly demonstrates that a shared commitment to seeking God trumps the need for a shared theology. To focus on differences can only cause us to get lost among the weeds.

I grew up during the great Kumbaya revolution in Catholicism that grew out of the Second Vatican Council. My background kept me sheltered from the deep mistrust that existed among some Christian denominations, and especially between some Catholics and evangelicals. Ironically, I finally became aware of these divisions through global humanitarian outreach.

Shortly after I joined CURE, I made my first trip to Africa. This trip included CURE’s annual meeting, a gathering of colleagues from around the world. After a few days I mentioned to some colleagues from Uganda that I was Catholic. I can’t recall why the subject even came up. I will never forget the stunned look in my fellow workers’ eyes. I was told that I couldn’t be Catholic because I was clearly a Christian. Now it was my turn to be stunned! Thus began a conversation that continues to this day—a conversation that has changed our views of one another and strengthened our faith.

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One Catholic Priest, and Eleven Other Pro-lifers Were Arrested for Tearing Up Nancy Pelosi's 'Health Care' Bill

From Christian Newswire

On Thursday Afternoon, November 5, 2009, 12 pro-lifers were arrested inside or outside in the hall at Nancy Pelosi's office at #235 Cannon office building.

They entered, with two complete copies of the bill - all 2,000 pages (4,000) - and proceeded to rip it up, page by page, and strew it on the floor.

Approximately 150 supporters were in the hall, chanting: "Kill the bill!" About 10 supporters of the bill chanted, "Health care for all!" Aprox 30 police were on site, arresting pro-lifers, one at a time. No supporters of the bill were arrested.

Among those arrested was pro-life legend, Father Norman Weslin, age 78.

Raw footage of the protest follows:

Monks and Nuns -- Including One of Our Advertisers -- Provide Edible Gifts By Mail

From Christian Newswire

Your gift is in the giving, the old holiday nostrum goes. But you also can get a feel-good gift in the buying, especially if you tap the monasteries, convents and hermitages scattered around the world. Many specialize in making food products, the range of which goes way beyond the usual fruitcake to include spice blends, jams, cheese, truffles and even coffee.

And no matter whether they're Roman Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, they do it while pursuing what they say is their main mission: prayer.

"Prayer and labor have been in the monastic tradition from the very beginning," said Sister Gail Fitzpatrick, a member of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, known popularly as Trappistines. She is based at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey in Dubuque, Iowa.

The nuns there make candy, including their signature Trappistine Creamy Caramels. Fitzpatrick is up every day at 3:45 a.m. By 5, she's at the candy facility tempering chocolate. Then she goes back to the abbey to pray, read and celebrate Mass before returning to tend the chocolate.

"You do have to weave tasks," the nun said with a chuckle. "Chocolate has demands."

Fitzpatrick is proud of the candy. She points to the quality ingredients used but notes the fact that nuns make them is also a selling point with the public.

"I think they can trust us, that what we put into that candy is good," Fitzpatrick said. "The environment in which we make candy is one of love and care. And if they believe in prayer that will mean something because we pray as we work."

Will Keller has been selling products made by nuns and monks for 10 years through his Cleveland mail-order company, Monastery Greetings. Among the religious communities Keller's company represents are the monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in Clark, Wyo. The brothers began roasting, blending and selling coffee beans in 2007 to finance construction of a permanent monastery.

"One of the brothers was something of a coffee expert. He was a barista," said Brother Paul Marie of the Cross, who oversees the coffee business. "His family owned a coffee plantation in Costa Rica."

Now the monks roast and blend 30 different coffees, including decaf. Brother Paul Marie said some customers buy the coffee to support the monastery but others buy it because it tastes good.

"We use good arabica beans. The gourmet coffee drinker appreciates it," he said.

For John Tapert of Duvall, Wash., it was disappointment in a gourmet cedar plank used to grill fish that led him to make fish planks out of alder wood and package them for sale with bottles of his own St. Benedict barbecue sauce and spice rub.

A one-time jewelry maker, Tapert now specializes in religious art. He and his artist wife, Candace, belong to the secular branch of the St. Joseph Carmelite monastery in Shoreline, Wash. They live in their own hermitage in Duvall following many of the same rules and traditions as the cloistered nuns, who are part of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. In addition to the alder grilling sets, he makes a range of jams named after various saints.

The 5-acre hermitage provides both the alder wood and the fruits and berries for the jams.

"It's a simple, honest, straightforward way to make a living," he said. "It involves a lot of quiet labor. We're not out in the world doing it for the most part. The end product is something you can be honest about. It has integrity, if you will."

Order from the Source

These products are made by or for monasteries, convents, abbeys and hermitages in the United States. All are available by ordering directly from the source. Or you can buy them through Monastery Greetings, a Cleveland mail-order firm (800-472-0425, monasterygreetings.com). Prices for products listed below are from the makers and do not include shipping or other charges:

St. Benedict sauce and plank from the Northwest Alder Plank Grilling Kit. Fashioned by John Tapert for the St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery in Shoreline, Wash. $39.95. 425-788-4905, johntapert.com/Tapert_Studios

Cowboy Blend Coffee by Mystic Monk Coffee. Made by the monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, Clark, Wyo. $9.95 (12-ounce bag). 877-751-6377, mysticmonkcoffee.com.

Trappist Abbey Monastery Fruitcake by the monks of the Abbey of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lafayette, Ore. $27.50 (three 1-pound fruitcakes). 800-294-0105, trappistabbey.org

Milk Chocolate Butter Nut Munch by Trappistine Quality Candy. Made by nuns at Mount St. Mary's Abbey in Wrentham, Mass. $12 (10-ounce box). 866-549-8929, trappistinecandy.com

Deluxe Caramel Assortment from Trappistine Creamy Caramels. Made by nuns at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey in Dubuque, Iowa. $17 (24-ounce box). 866-556-3400, www.trappistine.com.

Springerle Cookies by Simply Divine, a bakery run by the Sisters of St. Benedict, Ferdinand, Ind. $10.50 (12 cookies). 812-367-2500, www.simplydivinebakery.org.

Victory for Traditional Marriage in Maine

From Catholic World News

By a 53%-47% margin, Maine voters have repealed a measure that would have legalized homosexual marriage in the state-- even though, in the words of the Associated Press, “the stars seemed aligned for supporters of gay marriage. They had Maine’s governor, legislative leaders and major newspapers on their side, plus a huge edge in campaign funding.”

Bishop Richard Malone of Portland has been an active supporter of traditional marriage, ordering a collection in all parishes on behalf of the effort. The shepherd of the state’s sole diocese noted in a recent referendum alert:

Please let your conscience be formed by these clear and authoritative words of Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger): “In those situations where homosexual unions … have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty.” A Catholic whose conscience has been properly formed by Scripture and the teachings of the Catholic Church cannot support same sex marriage. Please vote YES on question 1.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Defeat in Maine a harsh blow to gay-marriage drive (AP)
• Diocese of Portland in Maine
• Same-sex marriage in Maine (Wikipedia)

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A Heretic Grows in Brooklyn -- Bishop Supports Abortion, Sodomy

From Catholic World News

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn has recorded a telephone call praising Assemblyman Vito Lopez, a state lawmaker who helped derail a bill that would have lifted the statute of limitations in clergy sex-abuse cases. Earlier this year, Assemblyman Lopez sponsored, and voted in favor of, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. In 2008-- as in previous elections-- Assemblyman Lopez was endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice New York PAC.

The recording is being phoned to every registered voter in a city council district where the candidate supported by Assemblyman Lopez is in the midst of a close election battle.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Recorded Calls to Voters From Brooklyn Bishop Praise a Democratic Leader (New York Times)
• Legalizing same-sex marriage (Project Vote Smart)
• Endorsed Candidates Meet Overwhelming Victory (NARAL Pro-Choice New York PAC)

Religious Left Pro-Censorship Campaign Hits Rough Water

"Whether or not churchgoers agree with Limbaugh, Dobbs and Beck, the move to use the churches to silence them should be chilling to free speech advocates." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President

From The Institute on Religion and Democracy

A campaign effectively to censor conservative voices on the airwaves and sponsored by a Religious Left coalition has been suddenly dropped. Sponsored by George Soros' Open Society Institute and the ACORN-supporting Wallace Global Fund, the "So We Might See" campaign called for advertisers to stop supporting the Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs programs, as well as the firing of Dobbs. The "Color of Change" campaign targeting Beck has been removed from the "So We Might See" website, as has the "Drop Dobbs" campaign.

The move comes as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) joins a growing list of denominational agencies, including United Methodist Communications, which have removed their names from support for an FCC petition promoted by "So We Might See," a coalition that includes agencies of the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the National Council of Churches, as well as the Islamic Society of North America and the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops Office of Communications. The petition invokes the name of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh as an alleged purveyor of "hate speech" and seeks to effectively silence conservative talk radio voices.

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"Shouldn't liberal religious voices defend free speech against an intrusive government? Regrettably, these Religious Left groups are all too willing to censor speech when it works against their political agenda.

"In the free-flowing marketplace of ideas, the truth usually emerges. Efforts to re-define 'hate speech' and intimidate targets by threatening to have them removed from the air are brutal tactics designed to suppress dissent. "Whether or not churchgoers agree with the likes of Limbaugh, Dobbs and Beck, the move to use the churches to silence them should be chilling to free speech advocates."

The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.