"I can no more disown [Pastor Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."
"The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, you know, there's a reaction that's been bred in our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that's just the nature of race in our society."
"What I meant really was that some of the fears of street crime and some of the stereotypes that go along with that, you know, were responses that I think many people feel. She’s not extraordinary in that regard. She’s somebody who I love as much as anybody. I mean, she has literally helped to raise me.
But those are fears that are embedded in our culture and embedded in our society. And, you know, even within our own families, even within a family like mine that is diverse, you know, there are those gaps in understanding or the stereotypes that are fed by the news media and fed by what we see around us and, you know, in our popular culture."
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An ABC News review of dozens of Rev. Wright's sermons, offered for sale by the church, found repeated denunciations of the U.S. based on what he described as his reading of the Gospels and the treatment of black Americans.
"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people," he said in a 2003 sermon. "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."
In addition to damning America, he told his congregation on the Sunday after Sept. 11, 2001 that the United States had brought on al Qaeda's attacks because of its own terrorism.
"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," Rev. Wright said in a sermon on Sept. 16, 2001.
"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost," he told his congregation.
Rev. Wright, who declined to be interviewed by ABC News, is considered one of the country's 10 most influential black pastors, according to members of the Obama campaign.
Obama has praised at least one aspect of Rev. Wright's approach, referring to his "social gospel" and his focus on Africa, "and I agree with him on that."
“Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people,” Wright said. “Hillary would never know that.
“Hillary ain’t never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person.”
In his Jan. 13 sermon, Wright said:
“Hillary is married to Bill, and Bill has been good to us. No he ain’t! Bill did us, just like he did Monica Lewinsky. He was riding dirty.”
FOX News purchased the video recordings of Wright’s sermons from the church.
“It’s pretty clear an indirect endorsement of Barack Obama - that’s not something you’re supposed to do according to the tax code,” said Andrew Walsh, a professor at Trinity College who specializes in religion in politics.
The tax code bans churches from participating in or intervening in a political campaign. Violations can result in the loss of a church’s tax exempt status.
The Obama campaign issued a statement in response to FOX News’ inquiries about Wright’s sermons.
“Senator Obama has said repeatedly that personal attacks such as this have no place in this campaign or our politics, whether they’re offered from a platform at a rally or the pulpit of a church,” said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.
“Senator Obama does not think of the pastor of his church in political terms. Like a member of his family, there are things he says with which Senator Obama deeply disagrees.”
Hear my radio show on Michelle Obama online now (See 2/27/08)
"California courts have held that parents do not have a constitutional right to homes chool their children."
"Parents have a legal duty to see to their children's schooling under the provisions of these laws."And:
"A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare."
"We're happy. We always think students should be taught by credentialed teachers, no matter what the setting."Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, who will represent Sunland Christian School and the Long family in a likely appeal to the state Supreme Court said,
"With this case law, anyone in California who is homeschooling without a teaching credential is subject to prosecution for truancy violation, which could require community service, heavy fines and possibly removal of their children under allegations of educational neglect."
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"I really do believe I was born to be a vehicle for this information to come to all of you. If you want to be a part of it, if you want to find out who you really are, join the largest interactive classroom in the world. It's free, because I want to begin to transform the world one reader at a time."
"The light of consciousness is all that is necessary. You are that light."
"Sin is a word that has been greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted. To sin means to miss the mark, so to sin means to miss the point of human existence."
"The man on the cross is an archetypal image. He is every man and every woman."
Hear the show online HERE (See 3/7/08)
Although most of the states with upcoming primaries have Jewish communities ranging from 0.3 percent to 2.3 percent of the population, Hillary Clinton's command of the Jewish vote -- fostered as first lady and as senator of New York, the state with the nation's largest Jewish population -- could be a defining element in the tight race she's running with Sen. Barack Obama.
Fritz Wencel, communications director for the polling firm Zogby International said that "Even though Jewish voters may represent a small overall percentage of the electorate, their proven practice of going to the polls in greater numbers than other demographic groups makes them an important voting block for candidates who are locked in tight races." According to MSNBC exit polls American Jews already have disproportionately affected the 2008 primaries. For example, in New York, where Jews comprise 8.4 percent of the population, they represented 16 percent of the vote in the Feb 5th Super Tuesday Democratic primary.
In states with small Jewish populations -- Ohio is 1.3 percent Jewish -- the voter turnout has been large in the primaries.. For example, Connecticut's 3.2 percent Jewish population nearly tripled its clout, accounting for 8.4 percent of the state's Democratic vote -- and swinging the state in favor of Obama on Feb. 5. With the exception of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California, Clinton has won the Jewish vote in every state so far. Her campaign Web site touts her "long history of strong and steadfast leadership for the U.S.-Israel relationship."
He espouses pro-Israel views nearly identical to Clinton's, but his connection with religious leaders who are anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, as well as his expressions of sympathy for Palestinians, apparently is helping Clinton hold onto her lead among Jewish voters. Obama expressed sympathy for Palestinians at a rally in Iowa. "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people," he said. The statement drew a hail of fire from bloggers and others.
Obama's known ties to religious leaders accused of anti-Semitism make it difficult for him to gain an edge among Jewish voters.
“Hollywood celebrities are known for supporting candidates who campaign on the promise to bring the troops home from Iraq. But Angelina Jolie, in her capacity as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, visited Iraq and had the opportunity to meet with the military responsible for the success of the ‘surge.’ And the actress-diplomat is now distinguishing herself from most of the Hollywood Left. In a Washington Post op-ed titled, “Staying to Help in Iraq,” “General Petraeus told me he would support new efforts to address the humanitarian crisis ‘to the maximum extent possible’ -- which leaves me hopeful that more progress can be made.”
As for the surge, she said, “I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.
Can the United States afford to gamble that four million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of the Middle East, won't explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder? It appears as though Jolie is affirming what military leaders have been saying; that not only will humanitarian progress be halted if the U.S. pulls out, but a humanitarian calamity will ensue.”
"No one likes them (the United States). This is the wish of regional nations, that is the withdrawal of foreigners from this region."
Yet another recently retired preeminent scientist has declared himself a dissenter from the so-called global warming ‘consensus.’ The ranks of skeptical scientists continue to swell. See Senate report of well over 400 scientists (currently at over 470 and growing) who dissent from man-made global warming fears See: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.SenateReport
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