Daily Archives: February 3, 2011

February 3, 2011 · 6:14 PM

Obama’s prayers: charity, humility, and longer skirts for Malia

Our president was both poignant and funny when he spoke at the annual National Prayer Breakfast yesterday…

Christian Science Monitor

At the National Prayer Breakfast, he admitted that his ‘faith journey has had its twists and turns,’ but he also said a frequent prayer is that he ‘might walk closer with God.’

President Obama offered a detailed glimpse into the role of prayer in his life during a speech Thursday that was at turns humorous, news-driven, a bit defensive, and deeply introspective.

The president, who has been criticized in some quarters for rarely being seen going to church, admitted “my faith journey has had its twists and turns.” But speaking in Washington at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Mr. Obama said his Christian faith has “been a sustaining force for me over these last few years.”

In sketching his religious history, Mr. Obama said his father – “who I barely knew and I only met once” – was said to be a nonbeliever. The president called his mother, on the other hand, “one of the most spiritual people that I ever knew.” But, he noted, she “grew up with a certain skepticism about organized religion, and she usually only took me to church on Easter and Christmas – sometimes.” Still, he said, his mother’s example of living the golden rule meant that “my earliest inspirations for a life of service ended up being the faith leaders of the civil rights movement.”

[...]

There was fatherly humor when Obama said that one subject for prayer was his 12-year-old daughter Malia. “Lord, give me patience as I watch Malia go to her first dance. Where there will be boys. Lord, have that skirt get longer as she travels – to that dance,” he said to widespread audience laughter.     More…

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· 3:33 PM

Zach Wahls Speaks About Family – Gay Marriage and its effect on children raised by gay couples

I’ll repeat what most of the over 10,000 comments on the You Tube video below have stated:  This young man speaks from his heart.  He is clear and concise in his presentation.  He is just 19 years old…

Huffington Post

A 19-year-old University of Iowa engineering student defended gay marriage in a rousing testimony in front of the Iowa House of Representatives on Tuesday. Zack Wahls spoke out against a resolution which would end civil unions in Iowa by describing his own experience as the son of two lesbian partners.

“Our family really isn’t so different from any other Iowa family,” said Wahls. “When I am home, we go to church together, we eat dinner, we go on vacations.”

Wahls emphasized the typical nature of his upbringing, as well as his own success. He is an Eagle Scout and a small business owner. He also scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. “If I was your son, Mr. Chairman, I believe I would make you very proud,” he said.

Wahls, a sixth-generation Iowan, finished his testimony on an impassioned note. “In my 19 years not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple,” he said. “And you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.”

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

H/t Democratista of The Regulator

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· 8:49 AM

Blog Round Up – 2-3-11

  

Vodafone: Egypt Forced Us To Send Pro-Government Messages

New York Times Journalists Arrested In Egypt: Report

Fox Hosts Yet Another Climate Skeptic To Cast Doubt On Global Warming

Fox Takes 50 Minute Break From Regular Programming To Run News Corp Infomercial

Bernie Sanders: Pentagon Spent Billions on Contractors that Committed..

Heritage Foundation to Darrell Issa: Dump Health Care, Financial and Environmental Regulations

Egypt Stymies Republican Message Machine

Beck: Losing his viewers, maybe his mind?

U.S. officials: ‘This is a train out of control’

Bush daughter adds to Obama’s problems

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· 7:52 AM

Al Gore Responds To Bill O’Reilly: Yes, There Can Be Snow And Global Warming At The Same Time

Mediaite

You can set your watch by it every year. Whenever there’s snow on the ground, as sure there are children hoping for a snow day, there’s someone out there smugly shaking their head and saying, “Guess Al Gore was wrong about that whole Global Warming thing, huh?” This year that person was Bill O’Reilly and, this year, he actually got a response from none other than Gore himself.

It started with a moment on the January 27th episode of The O’Reilly Factor where the Fox News host asked why “southern New York turned into the tundra.” He then joked that he had “a call in to Al Gore.” Yuk yuk. Mega burn.

Gore responded to the remark in a typically dry and calm response. You can really imagine it being read in Gore’s voice. Don’t though. You’ll fall asleep and miss what he’s actually saying:

“I appreciate the question.

As it turns out, the scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming:

‘In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.’

‘A rise in global temperature can create all sorts of havoc, ranging from hotter dry spells to colder winters, along with increasingly violent storms, flooding, forest fires and loss of endangered species.’”

Those quotes there are from a Chicago Tribune column by Clarence Page. Of course, since Page is a journalist, he’s probably not to be trusted. And he quotes scientists who are totally not to be trusted. God, Gore and company are such dumb dumbs.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to walk through all the snow (that’s right, hippies. SNOW!) down the street to get a pack of cigarettes. Sure, scientists claim they’ll give me cancer but I don’t have cancer yet, therefore I never will ever.

(h/t The Hill via Gawker)

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· 7:29 AM

Anderson Cooper Attacked, Punched In The Head By “Pro-Mubarak Mob” In Egypt

Huffington Post

Anderson Cooper and his crew were attacked by supporters of Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Wednesday. CNN’s Steve Brusk tweeted that Cooper was punched in the head ten times.

The incident came as pro-Mubarak supporters attacked protesters calling for the Egyptian president to step down. Speaking on “American Morning” after the attack, Cooper said that he and his crew had been trying to go to a neutral zone between the two groups.

“We never got that far,” he said. “We were set upon by pro-Mubarak supporters punching us in the head.” Cooper said that he and the crew tried to escape, but that the crowd only grew: “the crowd kept growing, kept throwing punches, kicks…suddenly a young man would look at you and punch you in the face.”

A CNN update said that “no one was seriously hurt” in the attack.

A pro-Mubarak group also roughed up a Washington Post editor on Wednesday.

Cooper spoke to The Huffington Post from Cairo on Monday.

Video here…

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· 7:06 AM

Revolution: Arab World Teeters on Egypt’s Unrest

The Daily Beast

The fight in Cairo’s streets over the future of Egypt’s government has burst outside the country’s borders as citizens of Yemen, Jordan, Syria, and the once unshakable Saudi Arabia consider the hope for new order.

For years, many predicted the Middle East would change through the force of Islamists, but so far, the message of revolution has been a decidedly more popular one, as dissenters rally around a different set of grievances.

“The street is not afraid of governments anymore,” said an opposition lawmaker in Yemen. “They want their full rights, and they want life, a dignified life.” The rallying cry in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square is reverberating throughout the region. “Aren’t you men?” one protester shouted on Wednesday. “Let’s go!”           

Read more at  The New York Times 

 
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· 12:44 AM

John McCain Has Rare One On One With The POTUS

Sen. John McCain and his 2008 campaign opponent, President Barack Obama have finally brought some civility to their ’relationship’ after a  meeting  today at the White House.

Politico

With a “rapidly deteriorating” situation in Egypt, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had a rare one-on-one meeting at the White House with 2008 campaign rival Barack Obama to discuss policy in the Middle East and several other domestic issues.

Though McCain did not want to delve into details about the meeting upon returning to the Capitol Wednesday evening, he emphasized that his talk with Obama was “good” and that he believed the two would meet again with issues such as immigration reform, border security, trade and middle eastern policy.

“We had a good meeting. We talked about a variety of issues,” McCain said. “Obviously, we talked about immigration, we talked about Egypt , we talked about fiscal issues, we talked about a number of what you might expect — the issues of the day.”

Hours after their afternoon meeting, McCain officially called for Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to step down — though the Republican made clear that his proclamation, made over Twitter, reflected his opinion only and not the president’s.

“Regrettably the time has come 4 Pres. Mubarak 2 step down & relinquish power,” McCain tweeted. “It’s in the best interest of Egypt, its people & its military,” McCain wrote.

McCain said he decided it was time for Mubarak to step down because of the “rapid deterioration” of the situation Wednesday, as tensions in major Egyptian cities escalated and thousands of anti-government protesters were reported injured in clashes between government and anti-government forces.

He said he did not inform the president he would be making such a statement when they huddled in the Oval Office.   More…

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