Submitted by: Joel Hendon(3,426) Joel Hendon Log in to become a member of Joel Hendon's Fan Club!
By this time, I'm sure all have seen and read of the New Yorker Magazine's satirical front page drawing of Obama and wife Michelle in the Oval Office bumping fists while a U.S. Flag burns in the fireplace and Osama bin Laden's picture stares at them from the wall. She is dressed in typical terrorist garb and has an AK-47 swung over her shoulder while Obama is dressed in Muslim attire, head gear and all. Quite an uproar has ensued and and the reactions from around the nation are of major interest.
The New Yorker and their cartoonist, Barry Blitts, are well known for their satire and caricature imagery which normally cause little attention. This cartoon's primary intent was to mock those who try to instill those attributes to the Obama's. But ironically, for the most part, those are the ones who are getting a horse-laugh from it and those who should appreciate it are furious! The Obama camp is screaming for apologies and Barack, himself, has ridiculed the publishing of it. Now, something is amiss here. Something is lacking. Is the potential new president totally without humor? Or, are his backers such? Or do they go into hysterics when they see such being made public, knowing full well the inferences they bring forth? Just how close to reality are these caricatures?
I acknowledge that I, perhaps, am one of the group that the satire was directed towards. The satire is greatly exaggerated but they are intended to be. I will also add that, to make Obama president of the United States will be an unprecedented mistake. I am appalled at the fact that this man can say things and do things so drastically anti-American and those who are his proponents simply pass them off and think no more about them. Again, before I am accused of racism, I vehemently deny that his color has anything whatsoever to do with my disapproval of him, and his wife. In other articles, I have listed and shall do so again, to emphasize that I hold no prejudices toward him because of his African descent, that there are a number of men and women of such ancestry, for whom I would gladly vote for president. In fact, any of them this year with the present choices we have. An incomplete listing is: Condoleeza Rice, Alan Keyes, Colin Powell, Jesse Lee Peterson, Johnny Hunter, J.C. Watts or Bill Cosby.
Pay close attention as I point out some things which have already been publicized concerning this man and his wife, and let's fit them together and see what appears.
(1) He was born of a Kenyan Islam turned atheist father and a white Christian turned atheist woman from Wichita, Kansas. These parents divorced when he was two years old and his father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, another Islamist. They moved to Indonesia and Obama was placed in a Catholic school for two years and then his step-father enrolled him in a Wahabi Muslim school. His early formative years were primarily influenced by Islamic doctrine. Many deny that he, personally, is Muslim. However, one authority in Islamic law, who writes articles for Searchwarp states that he legally is. Please read his article (swa293573.htm). Legally or not, this matters less than the fact that he was influenced by it for almost all of his youth. He returned to Hawaii and attended a private high school.
(2) He was baptized into the Christian denomination of United Church of Christ after finishing law school. Most of his life as a "Christian", 20 years, has been listening to anti-whites, anti-American ravings of the reverend Jeremiah Wright.
(3) His refusal to denounce his friendship with Jeremiah Wright, regardless of what he said, until his advisors pointed out that he was losing votes because of this, gives evidence of his own feelings. He then reluctantly denounced the then retired preacher but would not leave the church where he and his family had been, until more advice led him to reluctantly leave it also.
(4) His refusal to wear his U.S. flag lapel pin. When asked why he refused to do so, he said it was because he did not want anyone to think he was choosing sides!! Choosing sides?? Didn't want people to think he was on America's side? Who did he not want to know this? Those American haters, those white folks haters, ranting and raving preachers, that's who. If not, who else? Here again, I am told, but have no verification, that he has now started wearing his lapel pin flag. If so, he must have decided that he would "choose sides".
(5) The same thing as the last paragraph applies to his refusal to recite the pledge of allegience with one exception, I am not sure if he has now started to do so.
(6) His wife, Michelle, apparently has been obsessed with her skin color…perhaps most of her life. Her remarks back a few months ago that she was, for the first time in her adult life, proud of her country. I wonder will she be proud if Obama loses the race? Or does it take being first lady to make her proud of her country? But that remark was preceded by much agonizing over her color. Her senior year thesis in securing her bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University was concerning the influence of a Princeton degree upon blacks. And it appears that she was concerned that , in her words, "further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant."
If anyone would like to read her entire thesis it is available online in four parts at the following links:
(7) Obama's white grandmother, Mrs. Madelyn Durham, was used by Obama to compare his feelings toward her as to the feelings he had for Jeremiah Wright. Here is a quote from his speech when he was trying to justify the rantings of Jeremiah Wright: "I can no more disown him 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 her by on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe." Does he feel this a good comparison? That a person utters "racial or ethnic stereotypes" (whatever he means by that) in private, is as radical as some racist who preaches hatred from the pulpit each week?
(8) One other thing that seems clear is that Obama has sympathies for things which I and all Americans should strongly disapprove of. The rioting, burning and killing which occurred in Kenya early this year was partially tribal hatred being vented, however, it was much deeper in scope and intensity than meets the eye. Following is the opening statement from one article concerning this:
"An inability to understand the growth of Leftist/Marxist – Islamist Alliance supported by Liberation Theology, cultural Marxism and political Islam could spell disaster for the West resulting in a Clash of Ideologies. The events in Kenya resulting from the clash between the opposition leader Raila Odinga a supporter of Shariah law supported by Barack Hussein Obama and President Mwai Kibaki are a Microcosm for Future Events. The recent events in Kenya stand out as a watershed event signaling emerging resurgence of Islam in Africa and the beginning of the open Clash of Ideologies between the Muslims and Christians." (TheNewMediaJournal-January 26, 2008)
This is perhaps the most serious matter against Obama. Please visit and read these articles which confirm the above paragraph: I challenge you to read them all.
(9) Obama's shady associates prior to his presidential candidacy and perhaps since also. These are well publicized so I will not repeat them here. In every instance he attempted to pass them off as an innocent, uninformed incident. It is difficult to believe that a brilliant young lawyer was unaware of the reputation of such as Tony Rezko. And especially that he would give an estimate to the news media that Rezko had donated $50-60,000 towards his earlier political campaigns when the Chicago Sun-Times discovered that it was $168,308 in reality. The list of those of whom he has had to try and distance himself from is abnormally large and if all were innocent occurrences, he must be naïve with his business dealings. His association with various ones included even Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the "Nation of Islam" in the United States, a group so despicable that even the true Islamists denounce them. Farrakhan was spoken of with reverence by Obama's former preacher, Jeremiah Wright.
Nothing is more precious in this nation than our continued freedoms of speech, press, religion, etc. Shariah law does not allow freedom of religion, is suppressive…especially of women, and could never fit into our society. Advocates of it are totally lacking in patriotism or national loyalty.
Anyone should be free to embrace Islam if that is their choice. But no one should ever be able to force it upon others or to insist upon Shariah law.
Author Biography:
Joel Hendon was born September 20, 1930 near Gadsden Alabama. He attended public schools in Cherokee County, Alabama and after serving a tour of duty in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, attended Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama majoring in Business Administration. He became a Christian in 1948, and although he followed secular work as a career and retired from Allied Signal Aerospace in 1997, he is an avid student of the Holy Bible and related works as well as biblical history. He produces a bi-weekly publication, The Household of Faith Ezine which is free for the asking. Archives are accessible at: http://www.piedmontcoc.org/archives.html He is also the author of Final Stronghold, published in 2003, available from Amazon.
This author of this Article has choosen to make this article available with free reprint rights. Click here to copy this article.
This article was brilliantly written. Your points to ponder show that you've researched thoroughly and presented your information in a manner that can surely be appreciated by opponents and/or proponents of either candidate.
However, the New Yorker magazine, in my opinion, crossed the line of satirical lampooning and created something far more capable of being destructive, offensive and incendiary in nature.
In our country's history, we have never been in a situation as monumental as this year's presidential campaign has been or the upcoming election will be.
For the first time, we had an extremely qualified female and an extremely qualified ethnic minority vying for the Democratic nomination.
And one could never accuse you of being racist given the fact that Senator Obama is just as white as he is black.
But that's a whole other article in itself. So, for the sake of time and space, I would like to address each point to so eloquently states in one of the best articles I've seen on SW in a long time.
1) You say Obama's Kenyan father was an atheist and his mother became an atheist later. You also mentioned that his stepfather was a Muslim. Senator Obama is a Christian. Can one hold him in judgment for what his mother, father and stepfather were? As a child, can you choose what school your parents enroll you in?
Does the belief system your parents' have mean your beliefs must or will line up with theirs?
2) You say Obama was baptized in a Christian church 20 years ago. A church lead by the radical (I agree) Jeremiah Wright.
With that being said, you and I both agree that Senator Obama is a "Christian"
John McCain, a fellow Christian, called himself an Episcopalian in June of 2007. The very next month as the evangelical-rich South Carolina primary neared he made this statement about religion "It plays a role in my life. By the way, I'm not Episcopalian. I'm Baptist." However, Senator McCain has never been baptized.
And with reference to spiritual leadership, Did you know that the man John McCain calls his "spiritual guide" thinks the purpose of America is to get into a giant war with all of Islam and destroy it? Other than being bigoted, that's also insane. And how much have you heard about that guy? Who can even name who he is? I can. His name is Ron Parsley.
Parsley claims that Islam is an "anti-Christ religion" predicated on "deception." The Muslim prophet Muhammad, he writes in one of his published books, "received revelations from demons and not from the true God." And he emphasizes this point: "Allah was a demon spirit." Parsley does not differentiate between violent Islamic extremists and other followers of the religion.
Parsley, who refers to himself as a "Christocrat," is no stranger to controversy. In 2007, the grassroots organization he founded, the Center for Moral Clarity, called for prosecuting people who commit adultery.
Senator McCain better watch out! It's a well known fact that he commenced an adulterous relationship with his current wife Cindy.
3) You say Senator Obama struggled with his decision to denounce Rev. Wright.
In life we are taught to hate the sin not the sinner. I'm sure Sen. Obama didn't agree with the rantings and antics displayed by Rev. Wright. I know I've had friends, pastors, teachers I didn't agree with but they were friends just the same. I could no more denounce them than I could a member of "my" family.
In 2000, Senator McCain called the late Jerry Falwell "an agent of intolerance," a statement which may have cost him the decisive South Carolina primary. But as he ramped up his next presidential run in 2006, he embraced Falwell and gave the commencement address at his Liberty University.
When Tim Russert asked if he still considered him an agent of intolerance, he said, "'no, I don't." (talk about flip-flopping)
4) You point out Sen. Obama's refusal to wear the U.S. Flag lapel pin
What's the big deal about that? Neither Sen. Clinton nor Sen. McCain wore them consistently. The reason it wasn't a big deal is because they were never asked "why" they didn't wear one.
And the reason Obama gave for not wearing the pin initially are a little different from the one you gave reference to:
"This is an issue that is a phony issue, because I have never been opposed to a flag pin. I have worn flag pins in the past. When I was asked about it, I had worn flag pins after 9/11, and I have chosen not to wear one because I didn’t want to be perceived as wearing my patriotism on my chest but not promoting or advocating on behalf of veterans in a patriotic way.
I don't wear a flag pin nor have I ever served in the military. Does that mean because you're a veteran - you love this country and are more patriotic than me?
5) You point out that Senator Obama refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. That is completely false. A rumor that was created by a picture being spread on every blog in cyberspace
In the photo, Senator Obama, Senator Clinton, and Governor Bill Richardson are standing during a rendition of the national anthem. A large beautiful American flag is behind them.
If you happen to see the picture I'm referring to , you will discover that not a soul is even looking at the flag. Symbolism is very important in this country. As elected officials, surely they should know that during a rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed ALL present EXCEPT those in uniform should stand at attention FACING the flag with the right hand over their heart.
6) You point out that Michelle Obama is obsessed with her skin color and stated recently that for the first time in her adult life, she is "really" proud of her country because voters are hopeful and ready for change.
Michelle later clarified (as it seems lately...everything needs clarification) that she was trying to express pride in how Americans are engaging in the political process right now.
And in light of how apathetic most Americans have become about voting and the political process, I, too, feel a revitalized sense of pride.
7) The comments about Sen. Obama not being able to denounce Rev. Wright anymore than he could denounce his own Grandmother, I addressed in point #3.
8) You point out that Obama is an Odinga supporter.
Guilt by association never has nor never will work.
Obama is an American with Kenyan roots...period! He is not running for office in Kenya and can not be held accountable for what's going on there.
Before this election, how many of you can honestly say anything going on in Kenya was of any interest to you?
9) Obama and his "shady" associates
It seems there's enough shade in Washington for all to partake:
Long time lobbyist Charles R. Black, Jr. is Sen. McCain's "man" in Washington, a political big-wig who is hoping to guide his friend, the senator from Arizona, to the presidency this November.
But for half a decade in the 1980s, Black was also Jonas Savimbi's man in the capitol city. His lobbying firm received millions from the brutal Angolan guerilla leader and took advantage of Black's contacts in Congress and the White House.
In March Senator McCain took a break from the campaign trail and flew to a posh Utah ski resort sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase for it's annual leadership conference.
McCain's appearance at the Deer Valley event, arranged by J.P. Morgan Vice Chairman James B. Lee Jr., a top McCain fundraiser, put him in a room with the chief executives of companies such as General Electric, Xerox and Sony. It was, Lee said, "a chance for him to let them see him for who he is and possibly decide to support him." The effort paid off: J.P. Morgan executives have donated $56,250 to McCain's campaign, two-thirds of which came after his Utah appearance. And his visit there was quickly followed up by dozens of smaller private meetings with corporate executives in New York City arranged by leading Wall Street figures.
(reckon' he's gonna owe them any favors if he becomes Commander-in-Chief?)
We are all flawed and rarely ever hold up to the standards others set for us. It is a blessing to live in a society where our personal beliefs, views, values and ideals can be expressed without fear of intimidation or retaliation.
Thanks for reading my article and for the comments. You make some very good points and one or two of which I was not aware. But you spend much time comparing Obama to McCain. I am not at all happy with McCain either and you won't get much static from me on that.
All I was trying to do was bring the circumstances of Obama together and they frighten me. Extremely. I mainly question your conclusion that he is from Kenya and that is all, when it comes to Odinga. I did not come to the conclusion that he is supportive of Odinga, it is a matter of record in a number of articles. I encourage you to read them.
And, I was indeed, aware of what was going on in Kenya long before this election year and the election there. I help support 2 native Christian preachers there, and have for several years. I've also sent help to some native Christians who were in need. They were unable to leave their homes except for sneaking out to get groceries or supplies during that period of violence. We arranged to get extra funds to them during that time because of price gouging, their supplies tripled in cost.
I've never met them face to face but I have numerous pictures and we correspond regularly via email. I consider those preachers some of my very best of friends. But, if the articles (which were not written as derogatory towards Obama) are true and I have no reason to disbelieve them, then Obama remains on my list of do-nots. Odinga is definitely an advocate of Shariah law.
Also, the fact that Barack and his wife, always smooth out their remarks after the fact, does not impress me nor does it change my view of them. I believe they first speak from their heart and then hedge when it develops that the foot went into the mouth.
Besides, there are many other things I fear from this man. His wild promises of great things which will bankrupt this nation, taxes will soar, and I believe that with all my heart. I voted for a loser in the primary and very likely will vote some third party ticket in the election.
Thanks again for writing and God's blessings be with you.
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