A "Child Of The Future" Responds?????

So, like many bloggers I recently posted the funny Pro Obama video, "The Children Of The Future". The original post is Here.

The following is the only comment left was from "A Child Of The Future". Honest to God, it reads like this:

              "A Child of the Future said..."

"I am one of the children in the video. We were not tricked or bribed into filming, nor did we have the task forced upon us by adults. I participated willingly when I got an invitation and was fully aware of what I was doing. It was a wonderful experience with witty lyrics and a powerful message to the world. So please don't assume we were used or manipulated, and please stop with all the "child abuse" comments. I was more than happy to make a mark in the political world, because now I know I can make a difference in it, even without the ability to vote."

A few observations:

First, what a remarkably verbose "child". I am so impressed. A splendid sentence structure and solid use of vocabulary. I congratulate you. Really. Such a young one speaking with such clarity and responding point by point to each of my criticisms.

The point by point rebuttal is all the more intriguing because none are relevant. I never suggested they were "tricked" or "bribed" or that they were "forced". And that "Child Abuse" line. Hmmmm.

Wow, not only is the "Child Of The Future" an articulate commentator, but they clearly have the capacity to read minds as they are capable of drawing seemingly incomprehensible conclusions. They clearly are destined to be a student at Professor Xavier's School For Gifted Children. Ahhh, the future indeed is so bright. It sure is good to know they can still make a difference even though they are too young to vote.



Here is the video again, followed by the actual lyrics

Imagine an America
Where strip mines are fun and free
Where gays can be fixed
And sick people just die
And oil fills the sea

We don’t have to pay for freeways!
Our schools are good enough
Give us endless wars
On foreign shores
And lots of Chinese stuff

We’re the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And we’re kinda blaming you

We haven’t killed all the polar bears
But it’s not for lack of trying
The Earth is cracked
Big Bird is sacked
And the atmosphere is frying

Congress went home early
They did their best we know
You can’t cut spending
With elections pending
Unless it’s welfare dough

We’re the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And we’re kinda blaming you

Find a park that is still open
And take a breath of poison air
They foreclosed your place
To build a weapon in space
But you can write off your au pair

It’s a little awkward to tell you
But you left us holding the bag
When we look around
The place is all dumbed down
And the long term’s kind of a drag

We’re the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And yeah, we’re blaming you

You did your best
You failed the test

Mom and Dad
We’re blaming you!

Alva Hill Not Allowed to Wear 'Vote the Bible' T-Shirt at Polling Place

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Flooding Video In Manhattan

Rename Hurricane Sandy?

CBS Reporter Knocked Over By Massive Wave While Covering Hurricane Sandy

Bay News 9: Romney tops Obama by 6 points along I-4 Corridor

From: Bay News 9

Both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney have targeted Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area as being the key to victory in Florida.

Now, a Tampa Bay Times, Bay News 9 Exclusive I-4 Corridor Poll show more than half of voters along the crucial region favor sending Romney to the White House.


The latest results, released Saturday, show the former Massachusetts governor with a 6-point lead over Obama on the I-4 Corridor.


When asked which ticket they would vote for if the general election were held today, 51 percent chose Romney, and 45 percent picked President Obama. The remaining 4 percent said they were still undecided.

The telephone survey was conducted Oct. 22-24 among 625 registered Florida voters in the I-4 Corridor.

The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4 percent.

Saturday's results are almost identical to a previous Florida Decides Statewide Poll from Oct. 11, which was conducted following the first presidential debate between Obama and Romney.

The only difference two weeks ago: One percent of voters chose a third-party ticket. No one in Saturday's poll chose a third-party candidate, though the question did include options for Libertarian Gary Johnson or "one of the other party tickets."

"Winning by five points in Florida is a landslide," said Brad Coker, of Mason-Dixon, the Jacksonville-based company that conducted the poll. The normal margin is just 2 to 3 percent, which is what makes Florida such a crucial swing state, with its 29 electoral votes -- tied for the third most in the country -- up for grabs.

Breaking down the numbers

In Central Florida, Romney led the vote 52-44 percent over Obama. Four percent said they were undecided. That was up from 2 percent who said the same two weeks earlier.


Romney's lead was slightly smaller in the Tampa Bay area, where he topped Obama 50-46 percent. Again, 4 percent were undecided, up from 3 percent of Tampa Bay voters in the earlier October poll.

Coker added these poll results are fitting a larger pattern. The same trend is popping up in polls across the country.

But it doesn't take much to flip the state. In 2008, Obama won by 3 percent, and he had just a 1 percent edge along the I-4 Corridor.

"This is the I-4 Corridor, the Florida battleground," Coker said. "This is the part of the state that usually shows what's going to happen. Obama is going to underperform in a lot of counties he performed well in before."

Obama did hold the favor of women. Fifty percent said they would re-elect the president, with 46 percent choosing Romney. Men, however, favored Romney, 56-40 percent. Four percent of both men and women were undecided.

The I-4 Corridor's youngest voters, in the 18-34 age bracket, also favored the president by 51 percent, with 42 percent siding with Romney. Seven percent of young voters were undecided, the largest amount of any age group.

Romney held a majority in every other age bracket -- ages 35-49, 50-64, and 65 and older.

Breaking down the results by race, the Hispanic vote remains the most split, though Obama had the majority, 56-37 percent, of the Hispanic vote along the I-4 Corridor. Romney actually held a 2-point lead among Hispanics in this month's previous statewide poll.

Among black voters in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, 97 percent backed Obama. White voters in the same region favored Romney, 60-36 percent.

Seven percent of Hispanics said they were still undecided in Saturday's poll. Only 3 percent of white voters and 1 percent of black voters said the same.

The largest group of undecided voters on the I-4 Corridor is among independents. Ten percent said they have not yet made up their mind, with only two weeks left until Election Day.

Romney held an 8-point lead among independent voters, 49-41 percent over Obama.

The Republican nominee also got 11 percent of Democrats' voters in the I-4 Corridor Poll. Only 5 percent of Republicans said they would vote for Obama.

Little change in Obama's approval rating

More than half of voters along the I-4 Corridor said they disapprove of the job Barack Obama has done as president.

Of those polled, 54 percent said they disapproved of the president's job performance, as opposed to 44 percent who approved, and 2 percent who said they were not sure.

Those numbers are exactly the same as the Oct. 11 statewide poll, though the breakdown saw some significant changes.

Two weeks ago, 2 percent of voters in both Central Florida and Tampa Bay said they were not sure.

Now, 5 percent of Central Floridians aren't sure, with most of those who said the same before now disapproving.


In Tampa Bay, however, Obama's approval rating went up from 44 to 47 percent. The number of Bay area voters who disapproved also went down, from 54 to 47 percent. The "not sure" vote went up from 2 to 6 percent.


The biggest change of opinion was seen among independents. In that group, Obama's approval rating went up from 39 to 46 percent, and those who disapproved dropped 10 points, from 59 to 49 percent.

Most I-4 Corridor voters, 54 percent, also said they thought America was on the wrong track. Only 41 percent said the country was on the right track.

Again, that number was the same as the earlier statewide poll, but slightly more voters in both Central Florida and Tampa Bay said things were on the right track than two weeks ago.

Most voters in the latest poll also agreed they were not better off today than they were four years ago, when President Obama took office.

While most of Saturday's poll results were close or identical to the earlier, statewide poll, this question saw a 5 percent difference, greater than the 4 percent margin of error.

Of those polled in the latest survey, 55 percent said they were not better off, and 39 percent said they were. Six percent said they were not sure.

More than half of voters in Central Florida and Tampa Bay said they trusted Mitt Romney over President Obama to improve the economy and look out for the middle class. Half also said they trusted Romney's foreign policy more.

I-4 Corridor agrees: Political ads annoying

A new question in the latest Florida Decides poll asked voters their opinion of the amount of attention Central Florida and Tampa Bay has been getting during the election season's home stretch.

And most agreed: They've had enough.

Seventy percent of voters along the I-4 Corridor said all of the attention the area has gotten was annoying. They said there were too many political ads on TV and campaign activity around the region, and they did not really need that much information to make a decision about who would get their vote in November.

On the other hand, 26 percent said the attention both candidates have given to the I-4 Corridor was a good thing, because it brings in money, attracts national coverage and made them feel like their vote was important.

The remaining four percent either said their answer was a combination of both, or they didn't know.

More men, 77 percent, were annoyed at political coverage than women, 64 percent. Republicans, 72 percent, were also more annoyed than Democrats, 69 percent.

But perhaps the most important number was among the independents, 71 percent of whom said they were annoyed. That could be why there has been little change in that group's opinion since the last poll just two weeks ago.

An accurate Election Day preview?

So, with Romney up 6 points on the I-4 Corridor, is that a preview of what will happen on Nov. 6?
Mason-Dixon's Brad Coker thinks so, and that can already be seen in the way both candidates are campaigning, especially Mitt Romney.

"Things are breaking his way right now," Coker said of the GOP nominee. "You can tell by the way they are campaigning right now. Romney is positive, taking the high road. Obama is throwing everything at the campaign, including the sink."

Coker said the latest poll is more important than the statewide poll two weeks ago, which indicated a major shift in numbers favoring Romney. He said this poll shows that shift was not a fluke, but the beginning of a trend.

"I think it is locking in," he said. "I do not see Romney receding. I have yet to see a state poll in the past week were Obama has gone up and Romney has gone down. It has been the opposite."


But at the end of the day, the only poll that truly matters is the one on Nov. 6, the day Florida decides.

Poll numbers in detail

QUESTION: Do you recognize the name ________?
(If yes) Do you have a favorable, unfavorable or neutral opinion of ________?
* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	RECOGNIZE FAVORABLE	RECOGNIZE UNFAVORABLE	RECOGNIZE NEUTRAL	DON'T RECOGNIZE
Mitt Romney	52%    (50%)	39%    (38%)	9%    (12%)	—    (—)
Barack Obama	44%    (45%)	47%    (49%)	9%    (6%)	—    (—)

QUESTION: If the 2012 general election for president and vice president were held today, which one of the following tickets would get your vote?

• The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama & Joe Biden
• The Republican ticket of Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan
• The Libertarian ticket of Gary Johnson & James Gray
• One of the other party tickets

* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	OBAMA	ROMNEY	UNDECIDED
I-4 CORRIDOR	45%     (44%*)	51%     (51%*)	4%     (4%*)
REGION	OBAMA	ROMNEY	UNDECIDED
Central Florida	44%     (46%)	52%     (52%)	4%     (2%)
Tampa Bay	46%     (44%)	50%     (52%)	4%     (3%)
SEX	OBAMA	ROMNEY	UNDECIDED
Men	40%     (39%)	56%     (56%)	4%     (4%)
Women	50%     (49%)	46%     (47%)	4%     (4%)
AGE	OBAMA	ROMNEY	UNDECIDED
18–34	51%     (53%)	42%     (40%)	7%     (7%)
35–49	42%     (43%)	53%     (52%)	5%     (5%)
50–64	46%     (39%)	51%     (54%)	3%     (6%)
65+	44%     (45%)	53%     (52%)	3%     (2%)
RACE	OBAMA	ROMNEY	UNDECIDED
White	36%     (34%)	60%     (61%)	4%     (4%)
Black	97%     (94%)	2%       (5%)	1%     (1%)
Hispanic	56%     (44%)	37%     (46%)	7%     (10%)
PARTY	OBAMA	ROMNEY	UNDECIDED
Democrat	87%     (82%)	11%     (14%)	2%     (4%)
Republican	5%       (4%)	93%     (94%)	2%     (2%)
Independent	41%     (39%)	49%     (52%)	10%   (6%)

QUESTION: Do you approve or disapprove of Barack Obama's job performance as president?
* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	APPROVE	DISAPPROVE	NOT SURE
I-4 CORRIDOR	44%    (44%*)	54%    (54%*)	2%    (2%*)
REGION	APPROVE	DISAPPROVE	NOT SURE
Central Florida	41%     (40%)	54%     (58%)	5%     (2%)
Tampa Bay	47%     (44%)	47%     (54%)	6%     (2%)
SEX	APPROVE	DISAPPROVE	NOT SURE
Men	37%     (38%)	57%     (60%)	6%     (2%)
Women	50%     (49%)	46%     (49%)	4%     (2%)
RACE	APPROVE	DISAPPROVE	NOT SURE
White	35%     (34%)	60%     (65%)	5%     (2%)
Black	92%     (91%)	5%       (6%)	3%     (3%)
Hispanic	57%     (53%)	35%     (44%)	8%     (3%)
PARTY	APPROVE	DISAPPROVE	NOT SURE
Democrat	79%     (82%)	15%     (16%)	6%     (2%)
Republican	7%       (5%)	90%     (93%)	3%     (2%)
Independent	46%     (39%)	49%     (59%)	5%     (2%)

QUESTION: Would you say that things in the country are on the right track or would you say they are on the wrong track?
* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	RIGHT	WRONG	NOT SURE
I-4 CORRIDOR	41%    (41%*)	54%    (54%*)	5%    (5%*)
REGION	RIGHT	WRONG	NOT SURE
Central Florida	38%     (36%)	57%     (59%)	5%     (5%)
Tampa Bay	45%     (41%)	50%     (56%)	5%     (3%)
SEX	RIGHT	WRONG	NOT SURE
Men	35%     (38%)	60%     (58%)	5%     (4%)
Women	46%     (43%)	49%     (51%)	5%     (6%)
RACE	RIGHT	WRONG	NOT SURE
White	34%     (34%)	62%     (63%)	4%     (3%)
Black	88%     (78%)	5%       (12%)	7%     (10%)
Hispanic	45%     (42%)	48%     (49%)	7%     (9%)
PARTY	RIGHT	WRONG	NOT SURE
Democrat	72%     (74%)	21%     (20%)	7%     (6%)
Republican	9%       (6%)	89%     (91%)	2%     (3%)
Independent	42%     (35%)	46%     (58%)	9%     (7%)

QUESTION: Are you better off today than you were four years ago?
* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	YES	NO	NOT SURE
I-4 CORRIDOR	39%     (44%*)	55%     (50%*)	6%     (6%*)
REGION	YES	NO	NOT SURE
Central Florida	36%     (35%	58%     (58%)	6%     (7%)
Tampa Bay	43%     (42%)	52%     (51%)	5%     (7%)
SEX	YES	NO	NOT SURE
Men	35%     (41%)	60%     (55%)	5%     (4%)
Women	42%     (46%)	51%     (46%)	7%     (8%)
RACE	YES	NO	NOT SURE
White	32%     (39%)	61%     (55%)	7%     (6%)
Black	86%     (73%)	11%     (22%)	3%     (5%)
Hispanic	44%     (37%)	51%     (53%)	5%     (10%)
PARTY	YES	NO	NOT SURE
Democrat	66%     (73%)	27%     (20%)	7%     (7%)
Republican	9%       (13%)	87%     (83%)	4%     (4%)
Independent	41%     (43%)	51%     (51%)	8%     (6%)

QUESTION: Who do you trust more to improve the economy – Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
I-4 CORRIDOR	44%     (44%*)	52%     (50%*)	4%     (6%*)
REGION	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Central Florida	42%     (39%)	54%     (54%)	4%     (7%)
Tampa Bay	47%     (41%)	50%     (52%)	3%     (7%)
SEX	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Men	39%     (41%)	57%     (55%)	4%     (4%)
Women	48%     (46%)	48%     (47%)	4%     (7%)
RACE	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
White	37%     (37%)	59%     (58%)	4%     (5%)
Black	94%     (84%)	3%       (11%)	3%     (5%)
Hispanic	43%     (39%)	50%     (48%)	7%     (13%)
PARTY	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Democrat	82%     (83%)	11%     (13%)	7%     (4%)
Republican	5%       (4%)	94%     (92%)	1%     (4%)
Independent	43%     (39%)	54%     (54%)	3%     (7%)

QUESTION: Who do you trust more on foreign policy – Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
I-4 CORRIDOR	48%     (46%*)	50%     (49%*)	2%     (5%*)
REGION	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Central Florida	48%     (46%)	50%     (51%)	2%     (3%)
Tampa Bay	47%     (46%)	50%     (48%)	3%     (6%)
SEX	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Men	41%     (39%)	57%     (58%)	2%     (3%)
Women	54%     (52%)	44%     (42%)	2%     (6%)
RACE	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
White	41%     (38%)	58%     (57%)	1%     (5%)
Black	95%     (91%)	1%       (6%)	4%     (3%)
Hispanic	53%     (45%)	45%     (49%)	2%     (6%)
PARTY	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Democrat	88%     (82%)	10%     (13%)	2%     (5%)
Republican	7%       (7%)	91%     (91%)	2%     (2%)
Independent	49%     (47%)	49%     (49%)	2%     (4%)

QUESTION: Who do you trust more to look out for the middle class – Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
* (Numbers in parentheses from Oct. 11, 2012 statewide poll)

	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
I-4 CORRIDOR	46%     (47%*)	52%     (50%*)	2%     (3%*)
REGION	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Central Florida	45%     (46%)	53%     (51%)	2%     (3%)
Tampa Bay	47%     (46%)	51%     (48%)	2%     (6%)
SEX	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Men	40%     (44%)	59%     (55%)	1%     (1%)
Women	51%     (50%)	46%     (46%)	3%     (4%)
RACE	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
White	38%     (38%)	60%     (60%)	2%     (2%)
Black	97%     (94%)	1%       (2%)	2%     (4%)
Hispanic	54%     (45%)	43%     (46%)	3%     (9%)
PARTY	OBAMA	ROMNEY	NOT SURE
Democrat	89%     (84%)	10%     (11%)	1%     (5%)
Republican	3%       (7%)	94%     (92%)	3%     (1%)
Independent	43%     (44%)	53%     (51%)	2%     (5%)

QUESTION: Both presidential candidates have targeted Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area as being the key to victory in Florida. Their campaigns have spent a considerable amount of time visiting here and millions of dollars on television advertising. Which one of the following best describes your view?

• All of the attention is a good thing because it brings in money, attracts national coverage to the region and makes me feel that my vote is important.
• All of the attention is annoying. There are too many political commercials on television and other political activity. I don't need that much information to make a decision about who I am going to vote for.
  
  

	GOOD THING	ANNOYING	BOTH/DON'T KNOW
I-4 CORRIDOR	26%	70%	4%
REGION	GOOD THING	ANNOYING	BOTH/DON'T KNOW
Central Florida	26%	70%	4%
Tampa Bay	26%	70%	4%
SEX	GOOD THING	ANNOYING	BOTH/DON'T KNOW
Men	21%	77%	2%
Women	31%	64%	5%
PARTY	OBAMA	ANNOYING	BOTH/DON'T KNOW
Democrat	26%	69%	5%
Republican	27%	72%	1%
Independent	23%	71%	6%

———————————————
The telephone survey of 625 registered Florida voters in the I-4 corridor -- all likely to vote in the November election -- was conducted Oct. 22–24 for the Tampa Bay Times, Bay News 9 and News 13.
The poll, which included respondents using land-lines and cell phones, was conducted by Mason-Dixon, a nonpartisan, Jacksonville-based company. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

 

Lena Dunham: Your First Time PARODY

The Future Children Project Video: "Vote For Obama Or We're All Going To Die"

I love this. Hysterically pathetic. Just remember. It takes a "Village of the Damned" to raise a child.

Obama's Failed Record

CO Interview: Obama Pressed On Lack Of Answers On Benghazi Attack

Tyrone Woods' Father Charles Woods Calls Lars Larson's Talk Show

Clint Eastwood Ad For "American Crossroads: "At Stake"

Boeing: Counter Electronics High Powered Advanced Missile Project Test

Correcting Obama's Debate Comments on the United States Navy

Earlier this evening in the Third Presidential Debate Mitt Romney raised legitimate concerns about the current and shrinking size of the United States Navy. The President responded snarkily by saying that size does not matter because we have these these "things" called Carriers that "planes can land on" and these "things" that go underwater.

This pathetic attempt at rebuttal by Obama is quite simple. The first submarine commissioned by the United States Navy was "USS Holland (SS-1)" on October 12, 1900.

The first Aircraft Carrier commissioned by the United States Navy was the USS Langley (CV-1) on March 20, 1922. 

Exactly how does the existence of Aircraft Carriers and submarines in a Modern American Navy nullify Mitt Romney's  just concerns about the size of the Navy? Obama spoke about both as if they were some new fangled advances in naval warfare. The existence of carriers in our fleet justifies its reduction even though they have been an integral part of our navy for 112 and 87 years respectively? I guess in Obama's world Jimmy Doolittle was bombing Tokyo with ELECTRONIC b-25 Mitchell bombers. How can he defend shrinking a navy whose history he is wholly ignorant?

Are You Better Off?

Fox News Special On Benghazi Attack

For first time, Romney's favorability rating tops Obama's

From: WashingtonExaminer.com

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has finally cleared what many aides have long seen as his biggest hurdle: A majority of voters now like him.

According to multiple polls, Romney's favorability rating has surged since the Republican National Convention and in most he equals or bests President Obama's favorables.

And late Thursday, the Pew Research Center, the poll that has been toughest on Romney's favorability, released results showing that Romney is ahead of Obama by a point, 50 percent to 49 percent. That is a stunning turnaround from March, when Obama's favorable rating in Pew was about twice Romney's, 55 percent to 29 percent.

Gallup also has Romney beating Obama on the favorability rating, 52 percent to 51 percent.
Even the liberal DailyKos/SEIU/PPP poll has Romney beating Obama on the fave rating, 49 percent to 46 percent.

Romney campaign officials attribute the change to the stories told about the candidate at the Republican convention in Tampa, and his commanding performance in the first presidential debate.

Mitt Romney At Al Smith Dinner

Biden: How Many Know Someone Who Served In Iraq And Iran (Reid Raises Hand)

Jimmy Kimmel Prank: Who Won "Last Night's" Debate?

Unanswered Questions: Who Denied Security to the Benghazi Consulate?

Israeli Flags Are Now "Incitement" In Dearborn Michigan

The Buck Stops With Hillary

Please Move The Deer Crossing

October 13, 1917: Fatima - The Miracle of the Sun and Gregorian Chant

USCCB Responds To Inaccurate Statement Of Fact On HHS Mandate Made During Vice Presidential Debate

FROM: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

October 12, 2012

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the following statement, October 12. Full text follows:

Last night, the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees:

"With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact."

This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain "religious employers." That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to "Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital," or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

HHS has proposed an additional "accommodation" for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as "non-exempt." That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation "to pay for contraception" and "to be a vehicle to get contraception." They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.
 
USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.

For more details, please see USCCB's regulatory comments filed on May 15 regarding the proposed "accommodation": www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/comments-on-advance-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking-on-preventive-services-12-05-15.pdf
---

Chris Wallace On Joe Biden

Obama's LaBolt has disastrous interview on WTAM, hangs up on host

Stephanie Cutter: "Benghazi Only an Issue Because of Romney & Ryan"

Mother of slain State Dep't official is tired of being ignored by Obama

R.I.P. Alex Karras

Islamist extremism spreading in Tanzania

From: Christian Today

Islamisation is increasing at an alarming rate in Tanzania according to a bishop from the country.

Bishop Bernadin Mfumbusa of Kondoa warned that religious freedom and other civil liberties were under threat from intolerant radical Muslim influences sweeping in from countries neighbouring the east African nation.

Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, the bishop said: “We see more and more itinerant preachers from Saudi Arabia and Sudan entering this country – and Muslims are increasingly making political demands.”

These demands include extending Islamic Sharia law and making everyone subject to it – Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

Bishop Mfumbusa said: “In recent times there has been a constant demand to introduce Shari‘a into other parts of Tanzania which do not have a majority of Muslims.”

Sharia law is already in force in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago with an almost completely Muslim population, but it does not apply to other parts of the country.

The bishop said there were calls for Sharia, which currently applies in areas of civil law such as marriage and inheritance, to be extended to cover criminal law.

“They claim that otherwise Muslims would be able to avoid the law by claiming not to be Muslim.
“To prevent this they say Sharia law must be made applicable to everyone.”

But, despite these demands to extend Islamic law, no more than 31 per cent of Tanzania’s 45 million inhabitants are Muslim according to Church sources.

Christians make up more than half the population – including more than 12 million Catholics.

Bishop Mfumbusa described how the influence of radical Islam can be seen on the country’s streets.

He said: “In many parts of the country more veiled women than in the past can be seen, among them small girls.”

The bishop added: “Verbal attacks are also on the increase,” but stressed that to date there had been no violent attacks in Kondoa Diocese.

He said that education is not only being radicalised but even Catholic schools can face difficulties.
“In the church schools, which are also attended by Muslim children, we must be very sensitive and cautious to avoid any undesirable incidents,” said Bishop Mfumbusa.

The number of madrassas – Qur’anic schools – has also grown, with more extremist ones encouraging pupils not to attend regular schools, which is compulsory in Tanzania.

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‘Sometimes we have to step outside the boundaries of the Constitution'

From: WashingtonExaminer.com

Environmentalists want to ban hydraulic fracturing in Las Vegas, N.M., and the surrounding county and they don’t plan to let the United States Constitution stop them.

“What people don’t understand is sometimes we have to step outside the boundaries of the Constitution to get things done,” Paula Hern, a board member with Community for Clean Water Air and Earth, told the ABQ Journal. “Laws are made to protect corporations and we need laws that protect Mother Earth – earth, air and water.”

Hern was defending a “community rights ordinance” banning fracking that the Las Vegas (N.M.) City Council passed but the mayor refused to sign. “The way it reads, it will supersede everything – our city charter, state and federal laws,” said Mayor Alfonso Ortiz.

City attorney Dave Romero defended the mayor’s position. “To sign a document that declares those sacred documents — the city charter, the New Mexico Constitution and the US Constitution — are inapplicable would violate the oath of office [the mayor] swore to uphold,” Romero argued. “[H]idden within the ordinance are radical, inappropriate statements that essentially claim that no other entity governs when it comes to this particular ordinance,” adding that “It takes away rights of due process and property.”

CCWAE’s Lee Einer said that the mayor should “Let it play out in court.”

Reporter Lara Logan brings ominous news from Middle East

From: Chicago Sun-Times

This was no ordinary rubber chicken affair. That was my reaction to the extraordinary keynoter at Tuesday’s Better Government Association annual luncheon.

Lara Logan, a correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” delivered a provocative speech to about 1,100 influentials from government, politics, media, and the legal and corporate arenas. Such downtown gatherings are a regular on Chicago’s networking circuit. (I am a member of the BGA’s Civic Leadership Committee, and the Chicago Sun-Times was a sponsor).

Her ominous and frightening message was gleaned from years of covering our wars in the Middle East. She arrived in Chicago on the heels of her Sept. 30 report, “The Longest War.” It examined the Afghanistan conflict and exposed the perils that still confront America, 11 years after 9/11.

Eleven years later, “they” still hate us, now more than ever, Logan told the crowd. The Taliban and al-Qaida have not been vanquished, she added. They’re coming back.

“I chose this subject because, one, I can’t stand, that there is a major lie being propagated . . .” Logan declared in her native South African accent.

The lie is that America’s military might has tamed the Taliban.

“There is this narrative coming out of Washington for the last two years,” Logan said. It is driven in part by “Taliban apologists,” who claim “they are just the poor moderate, gentler, kinder Taliban,” she added sarcastically. “It’s such nonsense!”

Logan stepped way out of the “objective,” journalistic role. The audience was riveted as she told of plowing through reams of documents, and interviewing John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan; Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and a Taliban commander trained by al-Qaida. The Taliban and al-Qaida are teaming up and recruiting new terrorists to do us deadly harm, she reports.

She made a passionate case that our government is downplaying the strength of our enemies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as a rationale of getting us out of the longest war. We have been lulled into believing that the perils are in the past: “You’re not listening to what the people who are fighting you say about this fight. In your arrogance, you think you write the script.” 

Our enemies are writing the story, she suggests, and there’s no happy ending for us. 

As a journalist, I was queasy. Reporters should tell the story, not be the story. As an American, I was frightened. 

Logan even called for retribution for the recent terrorist killings of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other officials. The event is a harbinger of our vulnerability, she said. Logan hopes that America will “exact revenge and let the world know that the United States will not be attacked on its own soil. That its ambassadors will not be murdered, and that the United States will not stand by and do nothing about it.”

In the “good old days,” reporters did not advocate, crusade or call for revenge. 

In these “new” days in a post-9/11 world, perhaps we need more reporters who are willing to break the rules.

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Ohio shocker: GOP closes early voting gap, boosting Romney

From: WashingtonExaminer.com

 n a remarkable reversal of fortune for President Obama in Ohio, the GOP has closed the huge gap in absentee ballot requests used by early voters that favored the Democrats and the president in 2008, setting up what one state analyst said could be a Mitt Romney blowout on Election Day.
 
While in 2008, 33 percent of the 1,158,301 absentee ballots went to Democrats and just 19 percent to registered Republicans, a 14-point gap, this year 29 percent are being requested by Democrats and 24 percent by Republicans, a five-point gap.

And in a sign that the enthusiasm of 2008 voters is depressed, just 638,997 absentee ballots have been requested, according to American Majority Action, which culled the statistics together from Ohio college professors who are tracking the state's absentee ballots used for early voting. The group provided Secrets with the details.

Even more dramatic, while the GOP has cut the Democratic advantage in early voting throughout the state, the changes favoring the Republicans in certain counties has been huge. In Franklin County, home to Columbus, for example, a 2008 Democratic advantage of 5 percent is now a 5 percent GOP advantage. In Cuyahoga County, home to Democratic Cleveland, the GOP has shaved six points off the Democrat's 2008 advantage. And in Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati, Republicans have expanded their 2008 advantage to 13 percent.

University of Dayton Professor Larry Schweikart told American Majority Action President Ned Ryun that the GOP gains favor Romney. "Although it is early, we will soon be at a point where--assuming Republicans vote for Romney--the Democrats will have to overwhelmingly win all the remaining early voting just to be even on November 6. But, given Ohio's voting history, if the numbers are even close after early voting, Obama will lose, and possibly lose big."

Ryun, whose group has opened voter registration efforts in Ohio and other swing states, said that the Buckeye State's efforts to clean up voter rolls has also played a part in tightening the gap. He said that 450,000 dead voters and duplicate registrations have been nixed, and the majority were Democrats.

"Considering Obama won the state by 263,000 votes, Ohio's cleaner rolls could make a big impact," Ryun said. He added, "The five largest counties in Ohio have all shifted at least 6 percent and as much as 27 percent to the Republicans since 2008. While the polls show an Obama lead, these real votes--assuming registered voters vote for their candidate--demonstrate a Republican shift since 2008."

Ryun sent this to Secrets from his analysis of Ohio early voting:

In 2008, there were 1,158,301 total absentee ballots requested, 33 percent registered Democrat and 19 percent registered Republican--a 14 point gap. So far in 2012, 638,997 ballots have been requested, 29 percent Democrat and 24 percent Republican--only a five point gap.

The Republicans have shrunk the gap nine percent overall since 2008, but when we examine key counties in Ohio, the numbers become even more dramatic.

--Champaign County: Was +3% GOP, now +23% GOP - 20 point shift.
--Columbiana County: Was +9% DEM, now +9% GOP - 18 point shift.
--Crawford County: Was +3% DEM, now +12% GOP - 15 point shift.
--Cuyahoga County: Was +36% DEM, now +30% DEM (GOP already has 6,000 more requests than in 2008) - 6 point shift.
--Erie County: Was +24% DEM, now +7% DEM -17 point shift.
--Franklin County: Was +5% DEM, now +5% GOP - 10 point shift.
--Greene County: Was +4% DEM, now +19% GOP - 23 point shift.
--Harrison County: Was +22% DEM, now +5% DEM - 17 point shift.
--Hamilton County: Was +7% GOP, now +13% GOP - 6 point shift.
--Licking County: Was TIED, now +16% GOP - 16 point shift.
--Montgomery County: Was +29% DEM, now +5% DEM - 24 point shift.
--Muskingum County: Was +1% DEM, now +16% GOP - 17 point shift.
--Pickaway County: Was +12% DEM, now +15% GOP - 27 point shift.
--Seneca County: Was +1% DEM, now +13% GOP - 14 point shift.
--Summit County: Was +33% DEM, now +6 DEM - 27 point shift.
--Wood County: Was +10% DEM, now +1% GOP - 11 point shift.

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Christian Students Executed by Boko Haram in Nigeria

From: Christian Post

While there is speculation as to the motive of the massacre, sources close to the human rights watchdog Open Doors USA confirm that the massacre was performed by Boko Haram.

Emily Fuentes, the communications and public relations coordinator for Open Doors who recently visited Nigeria and spoke to Christian leaders about Boko Haram, told The Christian Post that believers around the world can agree that prayer is the "only thing that will change the people of Boko Haram."

"There are people who are turning to Christ who used to be in the Boko Haram, and God is changing their hearts," Fuentes told CP.

"A lot of Christians believe that God will change these peoples' hearts," she added.

The killings reportedly occurred in the late night hours on Oct. 1, when masked gunmen went door-to-door in the off-campus housing section of Federal Polytechnic College in Mubi, a city in the remote Adamawa State in northeastern Nigeria.

Open Doors USA sources confirmed that the gunmen separated the Christian students from the Muslim students, addressed each victim by name, questioned them, and then proceeded to shoot them or slit their throat.

"Open Doors is calling on Christians in the West to bear this horrific burden with our brothers and sisters in Mubi and Adamawa state," Open Doors USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra said in a press release emailed to The Christian Post.

"Nigeria is becoming a killing field," he added.

Fuentes told CP that according to a local Nigerian police chief, Monday night's killing were performed by Boko Haram as an act of reprisal after 156 Boko Haram members were arrested in Mubi in late September.

Fuentes told CP over the phone interview that the goal of the terror group, which has reportedly overtaken 13 of Nigeria's northern states, is to make the country a completely Islamic nation and rid it of all western influence.

"In these [Nigerian] states to be a Christian is of grave danger," Fuentes said, adding that killing Christians is "Boko Haram's way of wiping out western influence."

Fuentes confirmed that in Mobi, where Monday's massacre took place, there has been some form of violent attack on Christians nearly every day since Nov. 2011.

Fuentes shared the testimonials involving a change of heart by two Boko Haram members. In one testimonial, a former Boko Haram member found the Gospel of Jesus Christ and converted. He now serves as a witness to other Boko Haram members, and although he receives threats to his life daily, he has managed to stay alive.

Other Boko Haram members, according to Fuentes, have not converted to Christianity but have seen the "goodness of the Christian religion" and now warn Christians before there is an attack.

In light of Monday's attack, Open Doors USA requested that all Christians pray for the families of the deceased students, who have been "thrown into mourning" and are reportedly in "indescribably pain right now."

"Please pray for the parents, families and friends of the innocent victim of this slaughter. Pray that they will receive the comfort only our Lord can give. Pray that justice will prevail. Pray that Christians will not retaliate," Open Doors said.

Boko Haram has yet to openly claim responsibility for Monday night's massacre.