every church has a freaky pastor - that's why I stay away from those places.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "shempmcgurk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > If the facts in this article are true, not only will he not be > elected president, he won't get the nomination REGARDLESS of how many > delegates he has. > > --------------------------------------------- > > from: http://tinyurl.com/2xtfub > > OPINION > > > Obama and the Minister > By RONALD KESSLER > March 14, 2008; Page A19 > > In a sermon delivered at Howard University, Barack Obama's longtime > minister, friend and adviser blamed America for starting the AIDS > virus, training professional killers, importing drugs and creating a > racist society that would never elect a black candidate president. > > The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor of Mr. Obama's Trinity United > Church of Christ in Chicago, gave the sermon at the school's Andrew > Rankin Memorial Chapel in Washington on Jan. 15, 2006. > > > Trinity United Church of Christ/Religion News Service > Sen. Barack Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright > "We've got more black men in prison than there are in college," he > began. "Racism is alive and well. Racism is how this country was > founded and how this country is still run. No black man will ever be > considered for president, no matter how hard you run Jesse [Jackson] > and no black woman can ever be considered for anything outside what > she can give with her body." > > Mr. Wright thundered on: "America is still the No. 1 killer in the > world. . . . We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the > exporting of guns, and the training of professional killers . . . We > bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while > trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi . . . > We put [Nelson] Mandela in prison and supported apartheid the whole > 27 years he was there. We believe in white supremacy and black > inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God." > > His voice rising, Mr. Wright said, "We supported Zionism shamelessly > while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out > against it as being anti-Semitic. . . . We care nothing about human > life if the end justifies the means. . . ." > > Concluding, Mr. Wright said: "We started the AIDS virus . . . We are > only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third > World people live in grinding poverty. . . ." > > Considering this view of America, it's not surprising that in > December Mr. Wright's church gave an award to Louis Farrakhan for > lifetime achievement. In the church magazine, Trumpet, Mr. Wright > spoke glowingly of the Nation of Islam leader. "His depth on analysis > [sic] when it comes to the racial ills of this nation is astounding > and eye-opening," Mr. Wright said of Mr. Farrakhan. "He brings a > perspective that is helpful and honest." > > After Newsmax broke the story of the award to Farrakhan on Jan. 14, > Mr. Obama issued a statement. However, Mr. Obama ignored the main > point: that his minister and friend had spoken adoringly of Mr. > Farrakhan, and that Mr. Wright's church was behind the award to the > Nation of Islam leader. > > Instead, Mr. Obama said, "I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every > form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by > Minister Farrakhan. I assume that Trumpet magazine made its own > decision to honor Farrakhan based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex- > offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree." Trumpet is > owned and produced by Mr. Wright's church out of the church's > offices, and Mr. Wright's daughters serve as publisher and executive > editor. > > Meeting with Jewish leaders in Cleveland on Feb. 24, Mr. Obama > described Mr. Wright as being like "an old uncle who sometimes will > say things that I don't agree with." He rarely mentions the points of > disagreement. > > Mr. Obama went on to explain Mr. Wright's anti-Zionist statements as > being rooted in his anger over the Jewish state's support for South > Africa under its previous policy of apartheid. As with his previous > claim that his church gave the award to Mr. Farrakhan because of his > work with ex-offenders, Mr. Obama appears to have made that up. > > Neither the presentation of the award nor the Trumpet article about > the award mentions ex-offenders, and Mr. Wright's statements > denouncing Israel have not been qualified in any way. Mr. Obama > nonetheless told the Jewish leaders that the award to Mr. > Farrakhan "showed a lack of sensitivity to the Jewish community." > That is an understatement. > > As for Mr. Wright's repeated comments blaming America for the 9/11 > attacks because of what Mr. Wright calls its racist and violent > policies, Mr. Obama has said it sounds as if the minister was trying > to be "provocative." > > Hearing Mr. Wright's venomous and paranoid denunciations of this > country, the vast majority of Americans would walk out. Instead, Mr. > Obama and his wife Michelle have presumably sat through numerous > similar sermons by Mr. Wright. > > Indeed, Mr. Obama has described Mr. Wright as his "sounding board" > during the two decades he has known him. Mr. Obama has said he found > religion through the minister in the 1980s. He joined the church in > 1991 and walked down the aisle in a formal commitment of faith. > > The title of Mr. Obama's bestseller "The Audacity of Hope" comes from > one of Wright's sermons. Mr. Wright is one of the first people Mr. > Obama thanked after his election to the Senate in 2004. Mr. Obama > consulted Mr. Wright before deciding to run for president. He prayed > privately with Mr. Wright before announcing his candidacy last year. > > Mr. Obama obviously would not choose to belong to Mr. Wright's church > and seek his advice unless he agreed with at least some of his views. > In light of Mr. Wright's perspective, Michelle Obama's comment that > she feels proud of America for the first time in her adult life makes > perfect sense. > > Much as most of us would appreciate the symbolism of a black man > ascending to the presidency, what we have in Barack Obama is a > politician whose closeness to Mr. Wright underscores his radical > record. > > The media have largely ignored Mr. Obama's close association with Mr. > Wright. This raises legitimate questions about Mr. Obama's > fundamental beliefs about his country. Those questions deserve a > clearer answer than Mr. Obama has provided so far. > > Mr. Kessler, a former Wall Street Journal and Washington Post > reporter, is chief Washington correspondent of Newsmax.com and the > author of "The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the > Next Attack" (Crown Forum, 2007). >
