Impeachment Politics... The New Template

Following in the footsteps of Bill Clinton, the embattled Illinois Governor has reached out the Black community for support during his impeachment. When Clinton was in trouble, it was the African American community that first defended what had (up into that point) been considered indefensible. Now Gov. Blagojevich hopes to generate the same reaction by defying the Democratic Party and refusing to resign, and going as far as making a Senate appointment in spite of promises by his party not to seat whoever he picks. Blgojevich hopes to shame the Democrats into reversing that pledge, however, by selecting a black man, Roland Burris, to fill Obama's Senate seat. Sure enough, a former Black Panther (now Illinois Congressman) has jumped to his defense, saying blacks deserve to have at least one black Senator of their own, and daring any Democratic Senators to deny Burris the seat. On the other hand, the National Democratic party wants the scandal to go away, as not to create their own version of "culture of corruption", which they ran against Republicans so successfully in previous election cycles. At this rate, the scandal could last into the next election! See Chick's BUSTED!

Bishop Tries To Silence Priest Sex Abuse Activist

The leader of Maine's Roman Catholics has taken the unusual step of threatening to punish an outspoken advocate for people who were sexually abused by priests, possibly by denying him communion.

Paul Kendrick of Freeport has been banned from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, and warned in a letter that if he tries again to contact Portland Bishop Richard Malone he risks losing any right "to participate fully in the sacramental life of the church."

Kendrick, a co-founder of the Maine chapter of the lay reform group Voice of the Faithful, has been a vocal critic of how church leaders have responded to abuse claims and treated victims. See Chick's MEN IN BLACK.

Jews Fear Madoff Backlash

The Anti-Defamation League cites a spike in anti-Semitic comments online after Madoff's Dec. 11 arrest for stealing $50 billion. A columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz lamented the case as "the answer to every Jew-hater's wish list." Madoff was a prominent Jewish financier who robbed his clients blind using a giant Ponzi scheme, using the promise of large profits to attract his victims. The early investors make the profits, but only from the money of new investors. The later investors lose everything. Madoff's victim list is a Who's Who of famous American Jews, fanning the wide held stereotype that they stick together and are obsessed with making money.

Yeshiva University, one of the nation's foremost Jewish institutions of higher education, lost $110 million; Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, lost $90 million; director Steven Spielberg's Wunderkinder Foundation acknowledged unspecified losses; and a $15 million foundation established by Holocaust survivor and writer Elie Wiesel was wiped out. Jewish federations and hospitals have lost millions and some foundations have had to close.See Chick's WHERE'S RABBI WAXMAN?

Mint Releases Coins w/out God Motto

An unknown number of new George Washington dollar coins were mistakenly struck without their edge inscriptions, including “In God We Trust,” and are fetching around $50 apiece online.

The properly struck dollar coins, bearing the likeness of the nation’s first president, are inscribed along the edge with “In God We Trust,” “E Pluribus Unum” and the year and mint mark. The flawed coins made it past inspectors and went into circulation Feb. 15.

The U.S. Mint struck 300 million of the coins, which are golden in color and slightly larger and thicker than a quarter. See Chick's PAYBACK!

Israel Launches Christmas Time Bombing

Just two days after Christmas, Israel bombs Gaza and kills an estimated 280 Arabs and wounds 800 more. Israel says the attacks are retaliation for rocket attacks against Israel, the latest of which killed two Palestinians. Nations around the world have condemned Israel's response, with the notable exception of the USA, which blames Hamas for causing the action. President Elect Obaba has not commented yet. Some believe the attack is being waged now before he is in office because Israel is concerned he will not be as supportive of their aggressive stance against Hamas. See Chick's MEN OF PEACE?

Jesus troops invade KC

Hundreds of people in the Kansas City area dressed like Jesus in the days leading up to Christmas to emphasize the religious significance of the holiday.

Members of Praise Chapel Christian Fellowship began showing up at their jobs, shopping malls and restaurants wearing flowing robes and crowns of thorns.

“We are just showing people on the outside what we are on the inside,” said pastor Kelly Lohrke, whose church holds services at two sites in Kansas City, Kan., and Lee’s Summit, Mo.

At services on Dec. 14, Lohrke told his evangelical congregation of his plan to dress like Jesus. He then asked church members to come forward if they could participate. About 400 did.

Lohrke has since dressed like Jesus at a Starbucks, a Target store and a post office.

A video of shoppers dressed like Jesus was posted on YouTube. In response, Lohrke said a few churches in the Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., areas called and said they planned to ask members to dress like Jesus, too. See Chick's WHERE DID THEY GO?

Catholic Santa Shoots Party, Burns House

A Catholic Usher who recently lost his job and a court battle with his ex-wife, dressed as Santa and showed up at his former in-laws Christmas party and killed eight. After shooting the victims, including an eight-year-old girl, Bruce Pardo sprayed the house with fuel and set it on fire. He intended on attending his church's Midnight Mass and then flying to Canada, but suffering burns from the fire, he instead rigged his car with explosives, climbed inside and shot himself. The car exploded when emergency personal tried to get inside, but no one else was hurt. See Chick's ALBERTO. Article: http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/77368

New Doll Praises Islam

A new baby doll by Fisher-Price makes goo-goo sounds most the time, but on the third activation, it says "Islam is the Light". The company claims it is a mistake with the micro-chip compression, but don't they test that stuff before its released? The product has upset many Christian groups. There are several demonstration videos at youtube, including http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdXaZJ3EJzU
Of course, it could be worse: It could praise Allah and explode! Maybe they should inspect it for detonating diapers? See Chick's MEN OF PEACE?

ADL Celebrates New Poll.. but other Jews do not

The Anti-Defamation League released a new poll showing only 22% of Americans still think Hollywood is run by Jews, down from nearly 50% who believed Jews ran Hollywood in the 1960s. Although the ADL is proud of the reduced numbers who agree with the statement, some Jews are upset with the results, because they say Jews DO run the entertainment industry and deserve credit. Read the article at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein19-2008dec19,0,4676183.column
And see Chick's LOVE THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

Former Jesuit Fights Prop 8 For Gays in State Supreme Court

Showing a surprising disdain for the will of the voters, Jerry Brown, former California Governor and ex-Jesuit seminarian, has joined gay forces in attacking the propostion before the State Supreme Court (the same court that unilaterally legalized gays to marry in the first place-- months before taxpayers were permitted to vote on the matter). Brown (a Democrat) wants to run for Governor again, and although he earlier said he would follow his duty as the State's Attorney General to argue whatever the outcome of the election, now he's flipped flopped in order to court favor with the gay voting block. Arguing for the proposition and the right of the people to pass it is none other than Ken Starr, the same man who exposed Bill Clinton for purgury in the Lewinsky affair. See Chick's BUSTED.

UN Pushes For Pro Gay Declaration

The United States refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality. It joined the vast majority of other nations who refused. Most the European nations signed the declaration.

In all, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the nonbinding declaration — which gay activists called a historic step to push the General Assembly to deal more forthrightly with any-gay discrimination. More than 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality, and in several of them homosexual acts can be punished by execution.

Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, (nations with high gay populations) the declaration was signed by all 27 European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and a minority of other countries. There was broad opposition from Muslim nations, and the United States refused to sign, indicating that some parts of the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review.

According to some of the declaration's backers, U.S. officials expressed concern in private talks that some parts of the declaration might be problematic in committing the federal government on matters that fall under state jurisdiction. In numerous states, landlords and private employers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation (a Constitutional protection of their religious beliefs); on the federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military.

Carolyn Vadino, a spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to the U.N., stressed that the United States — despite its unwillingness to sign — condemned any human rights violations related to sexual orientation.

Gay rights activists nonetheless were angered by the U.S. position.

"It's an appalling stance," said Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. She expressed hope that the U.S. position might change after President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

More than 50 countries opposed to the declaration, including members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, issued a joint statement Thursday criticizing the initiative as an unwarranted attempt to give special prominence to gays and lesbians. The statement suggested that protecting sexual orientation could lead to "the social normalization and possibly the legalization of deplorable acts" such as pedophilia and incest.

The declaration also has been opposed by the Vatican, a stance which prompted a protest in Rome earlier this month.

A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Roman Catholic Church opposed the death penalty and other harsh repression of gays and lesbians, but he expressed concern that the declaration would be used as pressure against those who believe marriage rights should not be extended to gays.

A new Vatican statement, issued Thursday, endorsed the call to end criminal penalties against gays, but said that overall the declaration "gives rise to uncertainty in the law and challenges existing human norms."

Although the declaration's backers were pleased that nations on six continents had signed it, there were only two from Asia and four from Africa.

See Chick's SIN CITY.

Moral Majority Idea Man Dies at 66

Social conservative Paul Weyrich died today at age 66; He coined the term "Moral Majority" and worked hard to promote conservative and moral positions in the Republican party. He suffered many years from complications from diabetes. See Chick's WHERE DID THEY GO?

Obama Invites Rick Warren

Barack Obama has invited Pastor Rick Warren to speak at his presidential inauguration. Gay rights activists have protested the invitation, since Warren supported Prop 8 (the same sex marriage ban) in California. Warren is one of the most popular super-church preachers in the country--Obama and rival John McCain were interviewed during the campaign by Warren at his Saddleback Church--and Obama claimed to be against gay marriage during the interview. However, gay activists point out that they worked long and hard to get Obama elected and expect some sort of payback. See Chick's PAYBACK.

Palin's Church set Ablaze in Hatecrime

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's home church in Anchorage was badly damaged by arson, leading the governor to apologize Saturday if the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" from her campaign as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Damage to the Wasilla Bible Church was estimated at $1 million, authorities said. No one was injured in the fire, which was set Friday night while a handful of people, including two children, were inside, according to James Steele, the Central Mat-Su fire chief.

He said the blaze was being investigated as an arson. Steele said he didn't know of any recent threats to the church, and authorities did not know whether Palin's connection to the church was relevant to the fire.

Early in Palin's campaign, the church was criticized for promoting in a Sunday bulletin a Love Won Out conference in Anchorage sponsored by Focus on the Family. The conference promised to "help men and women dissatisfied with living homosexually understand that same-sex attractions can be overcome."

See Chick's THE GAY BLADE.

Senate-Gate Scandal Promises White Christmas

The recent scandal involving the selling of Barak Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder promises plenty of "snow jobs" for political hacks this upcoming Christmas season. Already, the Rev. Jesse Jackson's son has been implicated as one of the politicians who offered half a million to one million for the seat. Although he strenuously denies it, his supporters donated exactly the promised amount in a recent fundraiser for the Illinois Governor who sought the quid pro quo. Other Democrats are scrambling to deny any association with the (now tainted)Governor, including those those who vigorously campaigned for him, like President elect Obama. Obama is stating he had no contact with the Governor after the election, despite photos showing them together and news reports linking the two together in late November. (Like the famous Nixon-Watergate and Clinton-Lewinsky scandals, politicians usually fall afoul the authorities not for committing the crime that began the investigation, but for trying to cover up embarrassing details after the scandal becomes news.) Meanwhile, Democrats attempt to remove the Governor from office quickly by claiming that he is too sick to Govern. Allowing the usual impeachment would begin a trial and cause all the details of the scandal to become public. (So much for "transparency".) See Chick's THE WICKED MAGISTRATE

Playboy Apologizes for Christmas Blasphemy

Playboy magazine appologized for printing 100,000 copies of the Mexican version of their magazine with a semi-nude Virgin Mary on the cover. The title states, "We love you, Maria". Not surprisingly, the inflamatory cover created a public outcry, especially since it hit the stands in time to coicide with Christmas. The company apologized and insisted they meant no offense putting a religious symbol on the cover of their pornographic magazine. Ho! Ho! Ho indeed! See Chick's WOUNDED CHILDREN.

Newsweek Attacks Biblical Marriage

Newsweek magazine has published a lengthy article stating that the Bible supports homosexual marriage. The article was written Lisa Miller, Newsweek religion editor.

Miller's article displays a shocking lack of knowledge about the Bible or else a deliberate distortion of it. Such essays are typical from angry atheists with little or no reputation on the line, but not major news organizations. It is sure to offend many of the nation's mainstream Christians, including many Democrats who voted for Obama (who stated that he was also against gay marriage).

Dr. Albert Mohler has offered a response to the Newsweek article. You can read Mohler’s article at:
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2881

You can also read Miller's Newsweek article at:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653

See also Chick's THE GAY BLADE.

Crystal Cathedral Cracks

Pastor Robert H. Schuller, founder of the Crystal Cathedral, has removed his son, Robert A. Schuller, as preacher of the church's weekly Hour of Power syndicated TV broadcast.

According to the Orange County Register, the church will bring in a guest pastor each week to preach during the show. The newspaper says the elder Schuller told the congregation Sunday that he did not force his son out.

The senior Schuller also said through a spokesman that he and his son had different ideas regarding the direction and "vision for the ministry."

"For this lack of shared vision and the jeopardy in which this is placing this entire ministry, it has become necessary for Robert and me to part ways," said the church founder.

Robert A. Schuller will remain as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral and will return to the pulpit occasionally, according to his dad. Robert H. Schuller turned over the church ministries and the television program to his son in 2006.

The Hour of Power is broadcast to more than a dozen countries worldwide. See Chick's THE BRAT.

Left Coast Liberals Cause Consternation for Episcopals

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has joined seven other dioceses in passing a resolution asking the church to let lesbians as well as homosexual men become bishops.

The vote at the diocesan convention rejected the Episcopal Church's de facto moratorium on electing homosexual bishops since its 2003 consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who lives with his same-sex partner. The resolution will be considered at the Episcopal Church's national convention next July.

The Los Angeles diocese also expressed support for homosexual "marriage" with the creation of the "Sacramental Blessing for a Life-long Covenant." See Chick's DOOM TOWN.

Gay Bible Planned (it was only a matter of time...)

A gay version of the Bible, in which God says it is better to be gay than straight, is to be published by an American film producer.

New Mexico-based Revision Studios will publish The Princess Diana Bible – so named because of Diana's "many good works", it says – online at princessdianabible.com in spring 2009. A preview of Genesis is already available, in which instead of creating Adam and Eve, God creates Aida and Eve.

"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Aida, and she slept: and he took one of her ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from woman, made he another woman, and brought her unto the first. And Aida said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of me. Therefore shall a woman leave her mother, and shall cleave unto her wife: and they shall be one flesh.' And they were both naked, the woman and her wife, and were not ashamed."

The film studio said it would also adapt and direct the revised Bible as a two-part mini-series, The Gay Old Testament and The Gay New Testament, once it is completed.

"There are many different versions of the Bible; I don't see why we can't have one," said Max Mitchell, who directed the science fiction comedy Horror in the Wind, in which an airborne formula invented by two biogeneticists reverses the world's sexual orientation.

"I got the idea for the Princess Diana Bible from Horror In The Wind," he added. "After the world becomes gay, religious people create The Princess Diana Bible, which says that gay is right and straight is a sin. Then they burn all the King James Bibles."

The move has already provoked upset among Christians, with the blogger Douglas Howe at the Idol Chatter site describing it as "inspired by a political agenda and one person's desire to contort not only the text but the very context of it to suit his own perspective".

There was also criticism on Mitchell's Princess Diana Bible site, where one commentator said the choice of title was "very disrespectful to the late Princess Diana … It's just one more thing to link her to what many people believe is immoral. Sad, very sad indeed."

But Mitchell said: "There are 116 versions of the Bible, why is any of them better than ours?"

See Chick's HOME ALONE (Inside the HOT TOPICS Book)

Vatican Warns Against Cell Phones & Net

Pope Benedict XVI is warning against the excesses of modern life. His spokeman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that without a spiritual life, people risked losing their souls. And cell phones and computers are harming that spiritual life.

"In the age of the cell phone and the internet it is probably more difficult than before to protect silence and to nourish the interior dimension of life," Father Lombardi told the Vatican television show Octavia Dies. "It is difficult but necessary."

"There is an interior and spiritual dimension of life that must be guarded and nourished. If it is not, it can become barren to the point of drying up and, indeed, dying," he added.

The Vatican has long counselled against the excesses of modern life. Last month, Pope Benedict XVI said that the current global financial crisis was proof that the pursuit of money and success is pointless, and that wealth meant nothing.

However, Pope Benedict has embraced many aspects of modern technology in order to convey the Catholic message to a young, tech-savvy audience. At World Youth Day in Sydney, the Pope texted daily messages of inspiration and hope to attendees, while digital prayer walls were erected on-site. At the same event, many Catholics frowned at the presence of less modern but equally competitive entertainment, the ever-present CHICK TRACTS, many of which criticized the Vatican and its teachings. At least we know the Pope approves of the format of the tracts, even if he doesn't appreciate the message they convey. See Chick's THE MAD MACHINE.

Pastor calls Christian buisnessman "Evan-jellyfish"

A well-known Christian activist says it's outrageous that the founder of the world's largest online dating site has bowed to the pressure of homosexuals.

eHarmony was founded by Dr. Neil Clark Warren who is a professing Christian. Three years ago, a homosexual filed a lawsuit claiming he was the victim of discrimination when the company refused to accept his advertisement for a same-sex partner. And now eHarmony has agreed to begin matching homosexual couples -- a decision that stemmed from the lawsuit settlement. (See earlier article)

Dr. Hutcherson says eHarmony should have taken a stand. "To bow and say okay…that is turning against God who made his business successful," he argues.

Hutcherson says it is time for Christians to take a stand. "We're simply becoming evan-jellyfish with no spiritual vertebrae…and I'm appalled, I am mad, I am frustrated. I want to fight this and that is something we need to do," he chides.

Hutcherson says the Lord will never bless a business that puts the dollar above God's word. Through a press release, eHarmony said although company officials believed the complaint resulted from an unfair characterization of their business, they ultimately decided it was best to settle the case because of the unpredictable nature of continued litigation. See Chick's SIN CITY.