Yearly Archives: 2011

Book of Mormon is not historically accurate, but Bible is (Part 26)

June 10, 2011 – 12:01 am

The Bible and Archaeology (5/5)

From time to time you will read articles in the Arkansas press by  such writers as  John Brummett, Max Brantley and Gene Lyons that poke fun at those that actually believe the Bible is historically accurate when in fact the Bible is backed up by many archaeological facts. The Book of Mormon is blindly accepted even though archaeology has disproven many of the facts that are claimed by it. For instance, wheels and chariots did not exist in North America when they said they did.

Rick Deem wrote the article, “Archaeology/Anthropolocical Problems in the Book of Mormon,” and in it he asserted:

The Book of Mormon claims to be a record of the inhabitants of the Americas during the period from 2000 B.C. to 400 A.D. It makes many claims about the history and anthropology of pre-Columbian American cultures. Unfortunately, the author of the book, Joseph Smith, had little or no knowledge of pre-Columbian American civilizations. Borrowing and adapting many stories from the Old and New Testaments, Joseph Smith was unaware that the earlier Native American peoples were part of stone-age civilizations that were significantly less advanced than Hebrew and other Middle Eastern cultures of biblical times.

　

Use of metals by pre-Columbian cultures

Metallurgy (the use of metals) did not appear in the Americas until about the 9th century A.D. However, the

Book of Mormon describes the use of iron,1 steel,2 brass,3 copper,4 silver5 and gold6

before the birth of Christ. These metals were said to be used for coins, weapons, and in buildings. LDS apologists claim that these items would not survive in the tropical climates found in much of the Americas. However, both gold and silver coins are very resistant to decay, and would be expected to survive certainly for thousands of years, even in a tropical environment. Much more condemning is the fact that the art of the period (which is abundant) does not portray the existence of metallurgical products or metallurgical activity until at least 1000 A.D.

See Robson Bonnichsen and D. Gentry Steele,

 

 

Method and Theory for Investigating the Peopling of the Americas

(Corvallis, OR: Center for the Study of the First Americans, 1994)

The Old and New Testaments present a rich description of biblical peoples, places and cultures. Archeology of the Middle East has revealed the cities, weapons, crops, animals, coins, writings, and references to biblical characters found in the Bible. However, none of the cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon have ever been identified by qualified archeologists. In addition, many Book of Mormon references to metals, weapons, crops, animals, articles of clothing are known to have not been present in the Americas during the time period claimed in the Book of Mormon.

Archaeological Evidence verifying biblical cities

by Matt Slick

There is very little doubt in anyone’s mind about the reality of so many of the Old and New Testament cities mentioned in the Bible. Therefore, it is hardly necessary to document their existence. Nevertheless, following is a partial list of some of the cities mentioned in the Bible that have been found and excavated by archaeologists. This is simply more evidence that the Bible describes actual locations that can be verified. This means that at the very least, the Bible accurately reflects the locations and cities of ancient times.

Remember, this is only a partial list. There are hundreds of biblical cities that have been verified in archaeological digs.

  1. Arad
    1. Num. 21:1, “When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.”
    2. Num. 33:40, “Now the Canaanite, the king of Arad who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the sons of Israel.”
      1. “Arad 30 km NE of Beersheba, excavated from 1962 to 1974 by Y. Aharoni and R. B. K. Amiran.”1
      2. “The site consists of an upper mound or acropolis, where excavation has revealed an Iron Age (post thirteenth century B.C.).”2
      3. The remains of a Hebrew temple were uncovered at Arad.3
  2. Bethel
    1. Amos 7:12-13, “Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! 13 “But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
      1. “W. F. Albright made a trial excavation at Bethel in 1927. Albright then mounted a full excavation in 1934. His assistant that year, J. L. Kelso, continued the excavation in 1954, 1957, and 1960.”4
  3. Capernaum
    1. Matt. 17:24, “And when they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter, and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?”
      1. “Identified since 1856 with Tell Hum, Capernaum has been sporadically excavated for the past 130 years.”5
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Comments (0)

Brantley claims Barton is wrong about Founding Fathers rejecting Darwinism (Part 1)

June 9, 2011 – 10:59 pm

On June 9th Max Brantley on the Arkansas Times Blog referred to a Mother Jones Article that noted:

On Wednesday, Right Wing Watch flagged a recent interview Barton gave with an evangelcial talk show, in which he argues that the Founding Fathers had explicitly rejected Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Yes, that Darwin. The one whose seminal work, On the Origin of Species, wasn’t even published until 1859. Barton declared, “As far as the Founding Fathers were concerned, they’d already had the entire debate over creation and evolution, and you get Thomas Paine, who is the least religious Founding Father, saying you’ve got to teach Creation science in the classroom. Scientific method demands that!” Paine died in 1809, the same year Darwin was born.

Here is the first part of the series that I am starting today about the founding fathers’ views on the origin of man. Below is an portion of an article by David Barton, “The Founding Fathers on Creation and Evolution.” 

While uninformed laymen erroneously believe the theory of evolution to be a product of Charles Darwin in his first major work of 1859 (The Origin of Species), the historical records are exceedingly clear that the evolution-creation-intelligent design debate was largely formulated well before the birth of Christ. Numerous famous writings have appeared on the topic for almost two thousand years; in fact, our Founding Fathers were well-acquainted with these writings and therefore the principle theories and teachings of evolution – as well as the science and philosophy both for and against that thesis – well before Darwin synthesized those centuries-old teachings in his writings.

Nobel-Prize winner Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) explains: “The general idea of evolution is very old; it is already to be found in Anaximander (sixth century B.C.). . . . [and] Descartes [1596-1650], Kant [1724-1804], and Laplace [1749-1827] had advocated a gradual origin for the solar system in place of sudden creation.” 1  ( Bertrand Russell, Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948), pp. 33-34.)

Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935), a zoologist and paleontologist, agrees, declaring that there are “ancient pedigrees for all that we are apt to consider modern. Evolution has reached its present fullness by slow additions in twenty-four centuries.” 2 He continues, “Evolution as a natural explanation of the origin of the higher forms of life . . . developed from the teaching of Thales [624-546 B.C.] and Anaximander [610-546 B.C.] into those of Aristotle [384-322 B.C.]. . . . and it is startling to find him, over two thousand years ago, clearly stating, and then rejecting, the theory of the survival of the fittest as an explanation of the evolution of adaptive structures.” 3 And British anthropologist Edward Clodd (1840-1930) similarly affirms that, “The pioneers of evolution – the first on record to doubt the truth of the theory of special creation, whether as the work of departmental gods or of one Supreme Deity, matters not – lived in Greece about the time already mentioned: six centuries before Christ.” 4

For example, Anaximander (610-546 B.C.) introduced the theory of spontaneous generation; Diogenes (412-323 B.C.) introduced the concept of the primordial slime; Empedocles (495-455 B.C.) introduced the theory of the survival of the fittest and of natural selection; Deomocritus (460-370 B.C.) advocated the mutability and adaptation of species; the writings of Lucretius (99-55 B.C.) announced that all life sprang from “mother earth” rather than from any specific deity; Bruno (1548-1600) published works arguing against creation and for evolution in 1584-85; Leibnitz (1646-1716) taught the theory of intermedial species; Buffon (1707-1788) taught that man was a quadruped ascended from the apes, about which Helvetius also wrote in 1758; Swedenborg (1688-1772) advocated and wrote on the nebular hypothesis (the early “big bang”) in 1734, as did Kant in 1755; etc. It is a simple fact that countless works for (and against) evolution had been written for over two millennia prior to the drafting of our governing documents and that much of today’s current phraseology surrounding the evolution debate was familiar rhetoric at the time our documents were framed.

In fact, Dr. Henry Osborn (1857-1935), curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, identifies four periods of evolution: I. Greek Evolution – 640 B.C. to 1600 A.D.; II. Modern Evolution – 1600-1800 A.D.; III. Modern Inductive Evolution – 1730-1850 A.D.; and IV. Modern Inductive Evolution – 1858 to the present.5 He describes the third period in the history of evolution – the period in which our Framers lived – as a period which produced the pro-evolution writings of “Linnaeus, Buffon, E[rasmus] Darwin, Lamarck, Goethe, Treviranus, Geof. St. Hilaire, St. Vincent, Is. St. Hilaire. Miscellaneous writers: Grant, Rafinesque, Virey, Dujardin, d’Halloy, Chevreul, Godron, Leidy, Unger, Carus, Lecoq, Schaafhausen, Wolff, Meckel, Von Baer, Serres, Herbert, Buch, Wells, Matthew, Naudin, Haldeman, Spencer, Chambers, Owen.” 6

The debate over the origins of man has always been between a theistic and a non-theistic approach; and among those who embrace the theistic approach have been found (and still are found) three distinct sub-approaches: (1) intelligent-design (that which exists came into being by divine guidance, but the period of time required or the specifics of the process are unsettled, possibly unprovable, and therefore remain debatable); (2) theistic evolution (that which exists came into being over a long, slow passing of time through natural laws and processes but under divine guidance); and (3) special creation (that which exists came into being in six literal days). This, then, makes four separate historic approaches to the origins of man: three theistic, and one non-theistic.

In the non-theistic camp, Empedocles (495-435 B.C.) was the father and original proponent of the evolution theory, followed by advocates such as Democritus (460-370 B.C. ), Epicurus (342-270 B.C.), Lucretius (98-55 B.C.), Abubacer (1107-1185 A.D.), Bruno (1548-1600), Buffon (1707-1788), Helvetius (1715-1771), Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), Lamarck (1744-1829), Goethe (1749-1832), Lyell (1797-1875), etc.

In the theistic camp, Anaxigoras (500-428 B.C.) was the father of intelligent design; that same belief was also expounded by such distinguished scientists and philosophers Descartes (1596-1650), Harvey (1578-1657), Newton (1642-1727), Kant (1729-1804), Mendel (1822-1884), Cuvier (1769-1827), Agassiz (1807-1873), etc. Significantly, even Charles Darwin (1809-1882), strongly influenced by the writings of Paley (1743- 1805), 7embraced the intelligent design position at the time that he wrote his celebrated word, explaining:

Another source of conviction in the existence of God, connected with the reason and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. This follows from the extreme difficulty, or rather impossibility, of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist. This conclusion was strong in my mind about the time, as far as I can remember, when I wrote the Origin of Species. 8                                                                                                                                                                                         

Here are some other posts about David Barton’s word on the unconfirmed quotes that have been attributed to the Founding Father and Barton’s effort to stop the Righteous Right for using these quotes in the future:

 

 

 

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 6 David Barton:Were the Founding Fathers Deists? In 1988 only 25% of Christians voted but that doubled in 1994. Christians are the salt of the world. The last few days I have been  looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence […]

 

Two Unconfirmed quotes attributed to Noah Webster

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 5 David Barton: Were the Founding Fathers Deists? First Bible printed in USA was printed by our founding fathers for use in the public schools. 20,000 Bibles. 10 commandments hanging in our courthouses. The last few days I have been  looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding […]

 

Unconfirmed Quote attibuted to Patrick Henry

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 4 David Barton: Were Founding Fathers Deists? Only 5% of the original 250 founding fathers were not Christians (Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, Joe Barlow, Charles Lee, Henry Dearborn, ect) In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think […]

 

Samuel Adams Unconfirmed Quote was Confirmed Eventually

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 3 David Barton: Were Founding Fathers Deists? American Bible Society filled with Founding Fathers Here is another in the series of  unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David Barton has collected these quotes and tried to confirm them over the last 20 […]

 

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Ben Franklin

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 2 David Barton on Founding Fathers were they deists? Not James Wilson and William Samuel Johnson In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David Barton has collected these quotes and […]

 

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville

HALT: HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 1 David Barton: Were the Founding Fathers Deists? Religious holidays, Court cases, punishing kids in school for praying in Jesus name In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

 

Supreme Court never said It.

Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth David Barton goes through American History and looks at some of the obscure names in our history and how prayer and Bible Study affected some of our founding fathers In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

 

Lots of Fake Quotes of Founding Fathers in Circulation

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth   ___ I wanted to thank Gene Lyons for bringing this issue of fake quotes of the Founding Fathers to our attention because it should be addressed. In April 8, 2010 article “Facts Drowning in Disinformation,” he rightly notes that Thomas Jefferson never said, “The democracy will cease to [

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in David Barton | Comments (0)

Ronald Wilson Reagan (Part 87) (1981 Orsini McArthur murder case Part 11)

June 9, 2011 – 2:44 pm

C310-25A, President Reagan eating lunch at his desk in the oval office.1/26/81.

https://i0.wp.com/www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/large/c310-25A.jpg

From Oct. 28, 1980, in Cleveland, here is part 7 of the Carter-Reagan Presidential Debate, as taped from WJKW, CBS. Amazing how things have changed…and yet stayed the same…in almost 30 years!!!

Oct 21, 1984 Presidential Debate President Reagan v Walter Mondale

Nuclear Freeze

MR. KALB: Mr. Mondale, in this general area, sir, of arms control, President Carter’s national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, said, “A nuclear freeze is a hoax.” Yet the basis of your arms proposals, as I understand them, is a mutual and verifiable freeze on existing weapons systems. In your view, which specific weapons systems could be subject to a mutual and verifiable freeze, and which could not?

MR. MONDALE: Every system that is verifiable should be placed on the table for negotiations for an agreement. I would not agree to any negotiations or any agreement that involved conduct on the part of the Soviet Union that we couldn’t verify every day. I would not agree to any agreement in which the United States security interest was not fully recognized and supported. That’s why we say mutual and verifiable freezes.

Now, why do I support the freeze? Because this ever-rising arms race madness makes both nations less secure. It’s more difficult to defend this nation. It’s putting a hair-trigger on nuclear war. This administration, by going into the Star Wars system, is going to add a dangerous new escalation. We have to be tough on the Soviet Union, but I think the American people — —

MR. NEWMAN: Your time is up, Mr. Mondale.

MR. MONDALE: — — and the people of the Soviet Union want it to stop.

MR. NEWMAN: President Reagan, your rebuttal?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, my rebuttal, once again, is that this invention that has just been created here of how I would go about rolling over for the Soviet Union — no, Mr. Mondale, my idea would be with that defensive weapon that we would sit down with them and then say, “Now, are you willing to join us? Here’s what we” — give them a demonstration and then say — “Here’s what we can do. Now, if you’re willing to join us in getting rid of all the nuclear weapons in the world, then we’ll give you this one, so that we would both know that no one can cheat; that we’re both got something that if anyone tries to cheat . . . .”

But when you keep star-warring it — I never suggested where the weapons should be or what kind; I’m not a scientist. I said, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed with me, that it was time for us to turn our research ability to seeing if we could not find this kind of defensive weapon. And suddenly somebody says, “Oh, it’s got to be up there, and it’s Star Wars,” and so forth. I don’t know what it would be, but if we can come up with one, I think the world will be better off.

MR. NEWMAN: Mr. Mondale, your rebuttal.

MR. MONDALE: Well, that’s what a President’s supposed to know — where those weapons are going to be. If they’re space weapons, I assume they’ll be in space. [Laughter] If they’re antisatellite weapons, I assume they’re going to be aimed against satellites.

Now, this is the most dangerous technology that we possess. The Soviets try to spy on us, steal this stuff. And to give them technology of this kind, I disagree with. You haven’t just accepted research, Mr. President. You’ve set up a Strategic Defense Initiative, an agency, you’re beginning to test, you’re talking about deploying, you’re asking for a budget of some $30 billion for this purpose. This is an arms escalation. And we will be better off, far better off, if we stop right now, because we have more to lose in space then they do. If someday, somebody comes along with an answer, that’s something else. But that there would be an answer in our lifetime is unimaginable.

Why do we start things that we know the Soviets will match and make us all less secure? That’s what a President’s for.

MR. NEWMAN: Mr. Kondracke, your question to Mr. Mondale.
Strategic Weapons

MR. KONDRACKE: Mr. Mondale, you say that with respect to the Soviet Union you want to negotiate a mutual nuclear freeze, yet you would unilaterally give up the MX missile and the B – 1 bomber before the talks have even begun. And you have announced, in advance, that reaching an agreement with the Soviets is the most important thing in the world to you. Now, aren’t you giving away half the store before you even sit down to talk?

MR. MONDALE: No. As a matter of fact, we have a vast range of technology and weaponry right now that provides all the bargaining chips that we need. And I support the air launch cruise missile, the ground launch cruise missile, the Pershing missile, the Trident submarine, the D – 5 submarine, Stealth technology, the Midgetman — we have a whole range of technology. Why I disagree with the MX is that it’s a sitting duck. It’ll draw an attack. It puts a hair-trigger, and it is a dangerous, destabilizing weapon. And the B – 1 is similarly to be opposed, because for 15 years the Soviet Union has been preparing to meet the B – 1. The Secretary of Defense himself said it would be a suicide mission if it were built.

Instead, I want to build the Midgetman, which is mobile and thus less vulnerable, contributing to stability, and a weapon that will give us security and contribute to an incentive for arms control. That’s why I’m for Stealth technology, to build a Stealth bomber — which I’ve supported for years — that can penetrate the Soviet air defense system without any hope that they can perceive where it is because their radar system is frustrated. In other words, a President has to make choices. This makes us stronger.

The final point is that we can use this money that we save on these weapons to spend on things that we really need. Our conventional strength in Europe is under strength. We need to strengthen that in order to assure our Western allies of our presence there, a strong defense, but also to diminish and reduce the likelihood of a commencement of a war and the use of nuclear weapons. It’s in this way, by making wise choices, that we’re stronger, we enhance the chances of arms control. Every President until this one has been able to do it, and this nation — or the world is more dangerous as a result.
Nuclear Freeze

MR. KONDRACKE: I want to follow up on Mr. Kalb’s question. It seems to me on the question of verifiability, that you do have some problems with the extent of the freeze. It seems to me, for example, that testing would be very difficult to verify because the Soviets encode their telemetry. Research would be impossible to verify. Numbers of warheads would be impossible to verify by satellite, except for with onsite inspection, and production of any weapon would be impossible to verify. Now, in view of that, what is going to be frozen?

MR. MONDALE: I will not agree to any arms control agreement, including a freeze, that’s not verifiable. Let’s take your warhead principle. The warhead principle — there have been counting rules for years. Whenever a weapon is tested we count the number of warheads on it, and whenever that warhead is used we count that number of warheads, whether they have that number or less on it, or not. These are standard rules. I will not agree to any production restrictions — or agreements, unless we have the ability to verify those agreements. I don’t trust the Russians. I believe that every agreement we reach must be verifiable, and I will not agree to anything that we cannot tell every day. In other words, we’ve got to be tough. But in order to stop this arms madness, we’ve got to push ahead with tough negotiations that are verifiable so that we know the Soviets are agreeing and living up to their agreement.

It has been 150 years since the beginning of the Civil War that started in April of 1861 at Ft Sumter.

Federal troops guarding the Chain Bridge which connects Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C.

Federal troops guarding the Chain Bridge which connects Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C.

Shelby Foote clip

__________________________________________________

Excerpts from Mary Lee Orsini transcript

The following is a series of excerpts from a July 17 interview between Mary Lee Orsini and Sgt. Jim Dixon and Major Jackie Goodson of the Pulaski County sheriff’s office. The transcript was edited only for basic spelling.

Goodson: Here’s the thing, that Mary Lee Orsini knows that nobody else knows is where the gun is.
Orsini: Exactly, Yeah exactly, I know…
Goodson: Okay.
Orsini: No one’s ever been told. I never even told my mother that.
Goodson: Right. So we’re gonna go and see if we can locate that. If-if that’s possible then we can say that there’s no other motive for her telling the truth on this except what she says that she wants it all cleared up.
Orsini: Exactly.
Goodson: Because we got the gun where she says it happened.
Orsini: It’s a possibility that it will still be there, after all this time.
. . .
Goodson: Let me ask you one more time; because I think this is going to be a big thing. I mean I know you don’t want to get into a lot of details of it, but the motive of your reason behind that. And I’d like for you to explain that again to me. Cause I think that’s going to be a point where they’re either going to have to accept your response or they’re going to go out here and look for all the things. So I want to make it clear.
Orsini: There was nothing else that essentially. It was just that uh there was some misguidance by some people that directed me in the path of finances; I got in over my head and…
Goodson: What are some examples of what they would be?
Orsini: Uh, agreeing to uh, to doing different types of mortgages, that this would be paid off and I was in over my head I didn’t understand what they were really doing and then my husband was at a point with his business. He was saying take care of it, take care of it. He wasn’t really-really involved in all of and he expected me to just come home with the bill of sale. You know what I’m saying. He wanted it out of his hair. You know how you men are he didn’t like a lot of details you just want the woman to go clean up the mess, give it to me, I see policemen are different, y’all wanna hear all the details.
Goodson: I like details.
Dixon: (Laughs)
Orsini: Most men they wanna-they wanna know right here. At home, I bet you’re not detailed oriented you want to know two or three words. So that’s the way men are and that’s the way he operated one or two words it was clear it was over with it was solved. And I listened to some advice and had a convoluted, tangled up real estate mess. That I-that I ended up being messed up over.

Update
Mary Lee Orsini died at age 55

 
Posted by Traciy Curry-Reyes at 4:25 PM

 
 
 
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Ronald Reagan | Comments (0)

Brantley is right about Republicans’ fraud attempts in elections, but…

June 9, 2011 – 10:23 am

John Fund on Voter Fraud by Katy’s Conservative Corner at CPAC11.MP4

Max Brantley pointed out that the Republicans were trying to get away with some phony signatures. The article Brantley referenced noted, “Most notoriously, the Dems found the purported signature of a man who had been dead for 20 years, but whose name was still in the phonebook …”

This kind of fraud makes it just seem best to tighten the election laws. However, the funny thing is that Republicans want to do that and Democrats don’t. Why is that?

I found an interesting article from SoundPolitics.com that presents the other side of the story. Many quotes from John Fund of the Wall Street Journal who I heard speak in Little Rock recently. I have listed other posts about Mr. Fund below.

Are Democrats More Likely To Commit Vote Fraud Than Republicans?Nearly all informed political observers would say yes.  In his book on vote fraud, John Fund is apologetic about mentioning that, because he wants to make a general argument.  Here’s how he begins the discussion:

A note about partisanship: Since Democrats figure prominently in the vast majority of examples of election fraud described in this book, some readers will jump to the conclusion that this is a one-sided attack on a single party.  I do not believe Republicans are inherently more virtuous or honest than anyone else in politics, and I myself often vote Libertarian or independent.

He then notes that Republicans have had less chance to commit vote fraud because they controlled fewer “local and administrative offices”.  (Though Republicans have, as recently as the 1980s, sometimes used intimidation tactics that are certainly unethical, though perhaps not illegal.)   Fund then makes a more general argument:

In their book, Dirty Little Secrets, Larry Sabato and co-author Glenn Simpson of the Wall Street Journal noted another factor in why Republican election fraud is less common.   Republican base voters are middle-class and not easily induced to commit fraud, while “the pool of people who appear to be available and more vulnerable to an invitation to participate in vote fraud tend to lean Democratic.”  Some liberal activists that Sabato and Simpson interviewed even partly justified fraudulent electoral behavior on the grounds that because the poor and dispossessed have so little political clout, “extraordinary measures (for example, stretching the absentee ballot or registration rules) are required to compensate.”  Paul Herrnson, director of the Center for American Politics at the University of Maryland, agrees that “most incidents of wide-scale vote fraud reportedly occur in inner cities, which are largely populated by minority groups.”

Democrats are far more skilled at encouraging poor people — who need money — to participate in shady vote-buying schemes.  “I had no choice.  I was hungry that day,” Thomas Felder told the Miami Herald in explaining why he illegally voted in the Suarez-Carollo mayoral election.  “You wanted money, you were told who to vote for.”  A former Democratic congressman gave me this explanation of why voting irregularities more often crop up in his party’s back yard.  “When many Republicans lose an election, they go back into what they call the private sector.  When many Democrats lose an election, they lose power and money.  They need to eat, and people will do an awful lot in order to eat.”

(Sabato is a Democrat; I don’t know about Simpson or Herrnson.)

So Democrats are more likely to commit vote fraud because more of their adherents are poor enough to be bribable, because some activists will cross the line to help the poor, and because many Democratic politicians have no good alternative to public office.

These points are, as I said at the beginning, not something most informed observers would quarrel with.  But I think, before going farther, that I should make it clear how far my argument goes.  That more Democrats commit vote fraud than Republicans does not mean that most Democrats commit vote fraud.  I am sure that very few Democrats commit vote fraud in fact — but even fewer Republicans.

Some readers will prefer direct evidence to the conclusions of experts, however well informed.  I have that, too.  I do not know of a single major Republican vote fraud scandal in the last ten years.  But it is easy to find major Democratic scandals in such cities as Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Milwaukee, and New Orleans.  You may recall one example from Milwaukee; in 2000, a Democratic socialite was caught exchanging cigarettes for the votes of the homeless.  (She’s still an honored member of the Democratic party, by the way.)

(The 1998 Miami vote fraud scandal during the mayoralty race between Xavier Suarez and Joe Carollo is hard to classify by party.  Carrollo is and was a Republican.  At that time Suarez, who received many fraudulent votes, was an independent, though he has belonged to both parties.)

Democrats are the guilty in most of the smaller vote scandals, too.  I have started collecting these as they are reported.  Here are examples of vote fraud, or charges of vote fraud in San Francisco, East Chicago, Passaic, New Jersey, Orlando, Florida, South Dakota, New York and Florida, Cleveland, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania., Nevada, New Mexico, Orange County, California, and Kentucky.  Of these cases, only the Nevada case was purely Republican.  (A former employee of a Republican firm charged that some Democratic registrations collected by the firm had been discarded.  I don’t know whether the case has gone to trial.)  The Kentucky case appears to have been bipartisan, though I did not make that clear in my post.

When vote fraud is detected, those caught are nearly always Democrats.  Either Democrats are much less skillful at fraud, which seems implausible to me, or they commit far more of it, just as the experts say.

Some Democratic leaders have tolerated vote fraud fairly openly, including Bill Clinton, when he was governor of Arkansas.   (Some believe that the rush by the Clinton administration to get new citizens in 2000 was part of an effort to stuff the ballot box, something I did not mention in the post.  It was certainly true that, under pressure for Clinton and Al Gore, the INS skipped many checks on would-be citizens in 2000.)

Finally, Democratic leaders behave as if they believe more Democrats commit vote fraud.   Nearly always, when the two parties split on election rules, the Republicans want more checks on fraud and the Democrats want fewer.  The infamous 1993 “Motor Voter” Act, which did so much to make fraud easier was opposed almost entirely by Republicans and had been vetoed by the first President Bush.  I don’t say that all supporters of the legislation (including Washington’s Maria Cantwell) even knew that it would make vote fraud easier, but some of them did.  Like the anonymous liberal activists, they see some fraud as a reasonable price for getting more representation for the victim groups they identify with.

It is telling, I think, that there is one group, military voters, for whom Democrats tend to prefer tougher rules and the Republicans easier rules.  Military voters generally back Republicans, at least in recent years.  That Democratic leaders prefer rules that make cheating easier (for everyone except military voters) is understandable if they think they gain from the cheating, but hard to explain otherwise.

(This is the promised follow-up to an earlier post outlining distributed vote fraud.   In that earlier post, I left for another time this explanation for my belief that Democrats are more likely to commit vote fraud.)

Cross posted at Jim Miller on Politics. Posted by Jim Miller at January 12, 2005 12:59 PM |

____________________________________

John Fund’s talk in Little Rock 4-27-11(Part 5):

Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund discusses the stimulus bill during Missouri Chamber Day at the Capitol Part 2 Last week I got to attend the first ever “Conservative Lunch Series” presented by  KARN and Americans for Prosperity Foundation at the Little Rock Hilton on University Avenue. This monthly luncheon will be held the fourth […]

John Fund’s talk in Little Rock 4-27-11(Part 4):Responding to liberals who criticize states like Texas that don’t have the red tape that California has

John Fund at Chamber Day, Part 1 Last week I got to attend the first ever “Conservative Lunch Series” presented by  KARN and Americans for Prosperity Foundation at the Little Rock Hilton on University Avenue. This monthly luncheon will be held the fourth Wednesday of every month. The speaker for today’s luncheon was John Fund. John […]

John Fund’s talk in Little Rock 4-27-11(Part 3):

Ep. 7 – Who Protects the Consumer [1/7]. Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose (1980) Milton Friedman served as economic advisor for two American Presidents – Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Although Friedman was inevitably drawn into the national political spotlight, he never held public office.   In the clip above you can see Milton Friedman […]

John Fund’s talk in Little Rock 4-27-11(Part 2):Arkansas is a right to work state and gets new businesses because of it, Obama does not get that, but Milton Friedman does!!!(Royal Wedding Part 18)

Ep. 8 – Who Protects the Worker [1/7]. Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose (1980) Speakers at the First Richmond Tea Party, October 8-9, 2010 John Fund   John Fund is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and its OpinionJournal.com and an on-air contributor to 24-hour cable news networks CNBC and MSNBC. He is the […]

John Fund’s talk in Little Rock 4-27-11(Part 1):Carter, Clinton and Obama all governed from left when first elected (Royal Wedding Part 14)

Today I got to attend the first ever “Conservative Lunch Series” presented by  KARN and Americans for Prosperity Foundation at the Little Rock Hilton on University Avenue. This monthly luncheon will be held the fourth Wednesday of every month. The speaker for today’s luncheon was John Fund. John Fund writes the weekly “On the Trail” column […]

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Elisabeth Hasselbeck says Palin taking attention away from Romney

June 9, 2011 – 9:15 am

Elizabeth Hasselbeck: Sarah Palin manipulates the media and takes attention away from Mitt Romney

The Huffington Post reported:

Elisabeth Hasselbeck says Sarah Palin is “manipulating” the media away from giving attention to Mitt Romney.

On Thursday’s “The View,” Hasslebeck argued that although the country is facing major economic problems — something she claims is Romney’s strength — Palin’s bus tour is dominating the headlines about the Republican presidential contenders.

“If I had termites in my house, I’d get someone in there who could deal with it,” Hasselbeck said. “Mitt Romney, right now, his specialty is the economy. I’d have him in there. Here’s why we’re not hearing it: because Sarah Palin’s on a bus, and right now she’s manipulating, in terms of media attention.”

Other posts about Sarah Palin:

Elisabeth Hasselbeck says Palin taking attention away from Romney

Elizabeth Hasselbeck: Sarah Palin manipulates the media and takes attention away from Mitt Romney The Huffington Post reported: Elisabeth Hasselbeck says Sarah Palin is “manipulating” the media away from giving attention to Mitt Romney. On Thursday’s “The View,” Hasslebeck argued that although the country is facing major economic problems — something she claims is Romney’s […]

Palin was right about Paul Revere and Brummett and NPR can’t believe it

Gov. Sarah Palin’s June 5, 2011 Chris Wallace interview pt 2 of 2 (Paul Revere story discussed)   John Brummett is his article, “The Midnight ride of Mike Huckabee,” Arkansas News Bureau, June 7, 2011, he asserts: On an American history bus tour through New England that looked like a campaign forerunner, Palin fielded a […]

Brummett is wrong about Paul Revere not Palin

Gov. Sarah Palin’s June 5, 2011 Chris Wallace interview pt 1 of 2 Gov. Sarah Palin’s June 5, 2011 Chris Wallace interview pt 2 of 2 (Paul Revere story discussed) John Brummett is his article, “The Midnight ride of Mike Huckabee,” Arkansas News Bureau, June 7, 2011, he asserts: On an American history bus tour […]

Sarah Palin right about Paul Revere?

How Sarah Palin Got it Right About Paul Revere ‘Warning the British’ Mark Whittington Mark Whittington Sun Jun 5, 3:38 pm ET /news/common/pages/generic/darla/md?en=utf-8 COMMENTARY | Sarah Palin stepped out of Paul Revere’s home in Boston and appeared to get her history wrong. The Internet then exploded in ridicule and astonishment at the ditz from Alaska once again uttering nonsense. […]

Documentary about Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin’s Movie Makeover in The Undefeated Shushannah Walshe – 2 hrs 25 mins ago NEW YORK – A forgotten Sarah Palin who worked with Democrats to pass landmark legislation emerges in the new documentary The Undefeated. Shushannah Walshe gets an early look and talks to director Stephen K. Bannon. The Undefeated, a glowing, dramatic documentary about Sarah Palin’s history from the former Alaska […]

Romney believes in global warming

Romney reaffirms stance that global warming is real Bucking skeptics, he urges changes Mitt Romney, at UNH yesterday, said if elected, he would pursue more oil drilling, as well as natural gas and nuclear energy. (Stephan Savoia/Associated Press) By Matt Viser MANCHESTER, N.H. — In the first town hall of his freshly announced presidential campaign, Mitt […]

Candidate #10,Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part C, )

Piper Palin By Claudine Zap, Yahoo! Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 3:14 pm PDT The bus has Sarah Palin’s name on it, but it’s Piper Palin who is stealing the show. The 10-year-old daughter has been at the former governor’s side during the family’s East Coast tour (shown here at Boston’s Old North Church) and even […]

Candidate #10,Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part B, Palin talks about her faith)

News on The 700 Club: November 19, 2009 – CBN.com As seen on Thursday’s “The 700 Club,” the top stories from CBN News include an exclusive interview Sarah Palin, Senate’s HC Bill More Than $849 Billion?, and more… The Christian Broadcasting Network CBN Below is the first part of the article. Sarah Palin Goes ‘Rogue’ […]

Candidate #10,Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part A)

  New York Daily News reported on May 27th: John Walker/AP Sarah Palin, the former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, will kick off a “one Nation” bus tour in Washington D.C. over the holiday weekend. Sarah Palin is hopping aboard a national bus tour this weekend, and now the big mystery is whether […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Top Ten List of greatest soccer players: E. Hatcher’s list v. W. Hatcher’s list (Part 10)

June 9, 2011 – 8:54 am

Today we are discussing the best player of all time.

Everette Hatcher picks Pele.

Pele The Great

videosport.jumptv.com – A tribute to history’s greatest soccer player of all time.

Wilson Hatcher’s pick: Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi 2009 – Top 10 Goals *NEW*

This list is based on talent not influence. For Pele would easily be number 1. But when it comes to talent, Messi is the best.

He is only 23 and he has won the FIFA player of the year award twice and he came in second for another one. He is very quick and he is great with his feet. The speed, the dribbling, the assist, the goals, this guy has it all. Teamwork is what leads to victory, with players like Messi, all of that increases.

This video is about lionel Messi and a little about his life story. I love it!!!

__________________________________

Here is another top 10 list I got off the internet:

1Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)

“This is a century old question that will impact future generations, some say that he won everything with the best team, but in that same thought, remember this is a team game. Pele was terror to any goalie, he only presence in the area shuke fear in their very core. But beyond that a player goes beyond the field, sets standards of living for other players and fans, the only one to positively do this is not but Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, any more questions check his numbers.

“Just look at his goals on You Tube, he could whack the from a mile out or dribble them into the back of the net, he was the most complete player the game has ever seen and unlike modern players didn’t have the comfort of referees protection… opposing players tried to kick him off the park. I remember seeing him in the early 70’s and frankly it was a time to really watch football rather than spoilt brats thinking they are a lot better than they really are.

“When you see this guy play, it’s like everything else around you doesn’t matter. The ringing phone doesn’t disturb you. The chatter of the people makes no impact on you at all. It’s just him, him and his game. Pele wasn’t just another amazing football player, he was an excellent one, a prodigy, incomparable, and probably, someone this world will never see again in the next 100 years. He simply is, a football legend.

kusanagi_sanasara

More comments about Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)

2Cristiano Ronaldo

“He is the best that is, that was and that will be. Better than Lionnel Messi or Rooney. His free kicks, his dribbles, his shots and his high class on the pitch. May be he has another skills that we don’t know. Remember, before Messi he was the winner of the fifa golden ball. Don’t be stupid and vote the best player.

“yes he is the best… I literally worship him… he should be the no.1.. he is the most skilled player in the world

“Ronaldo is simply amazing. He make soccer a show and entertains. He shows up and shows what he is mad of good or bad. Pele is the only one that can beat him.

More comments about Cristiano Ronaldo

3Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima)

ronaldo is the greatest striker ever played football with that speed an skill he’s the best ever may i call him the phonomonen, the king , the number 9,the best ever rooooooooooooooooooonaldo

Deserves the 2nd place. Definintely better than Cristiano Ronaldo.

SIMPLY THE BEST, NOT ONLY FOR HIS SKILLS BUT HE JUST CHANGED THE WAY THAT FOOTBALL WAS PLAYED… THERE WILL NEVER BE A PLAYER LIKE HIM. GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME. GREAT GOALSCORER

More comments about Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima)

4Diego Maradona

“Maradona is the best player ever, and the second one is Messi. His playing skills were simply marvelous, amazing just like maradona. They have perfect ball controlling ^^ dribbler ability.

“ronaldo = fake of soccer
messi = genius of soccer
pele = king of soccer
maradona = god of soccer

ONLY MARADONA!

“maradona lived in a more modern day soccer while pele was great but he played in a time where the game was so slow. and I’m not talking about physical side I’m talking about the mental and tactical part of the game. even maradona’s time was slow compared to today. I give pele huge props but maradona was just better.

More comments about Diego Maradona

5Zinedine Zidane

“Put France back onto the worldwide football map.

His playing skills were simply marvelous, amazing, punctuated in my opinion by his incredible performance against Brazil in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. At that point of his career he was more Brazilian than any Brazilian at the time.

Always present when needed, he led France to back-to-back major championships in 1998 and 2002.
Came back in 2006 and almost won it for France in overtime with another amazing headshot (his specialty in the Finals) blocked by a certain Gianluigi Buffon, at the top of his craft.

Zidane’s name should be well ahead of the two Ronaldo’s. Cristiano is a great player but he hasn’t won anyhting worthy now and probably won’t.

“Zindane is higher than Ronaldhino.
Ronaldhino cant play big games. He can never use his tricks when he play. The fake u-tube video(gitting the post several times) does not make him great.
Pele …dont know about hi. Looking at the videos, i dont think he can be compared to Zidane.
Football was different then. It was not competetive.
Pele is better than general but not great because he did not face great opposition and he didnt have magic touches like zidane or other players have these days. he was just a mere shooter like Trazeguet….he got lucky. But zico is better in Brazilian player.

“zidane is first period. there is no question he may not have been the shooter or scored the most goals. but he lead his teams they did not even need there coach they could just follow there amazing player who’s passing and way of looking at the game surpasess any player.

More comments about Zinedine Zidane

6Ronaldinho

“just incredible by far the best could have rivalled pele in his day
FANTASTIC PICMENT OF BRAZILLIAN AND FOOTBALL OVERALL

“He is unarguably the best player I have ever Seen. His dribbling abilities are mesmerizing his passes n free kicks are awesome, bust most important of all,… he is a team player unlike C. Ronaldo… I simply love him…

“RONALDINHO… NIGHTMARE OF ANY DEFENDER
perfest tricks, speed and preciseness… shame he had to leabve FCB

More comments about Ronaldinho

7Lio Messi

he is the B E S T…
just amazing
wonderful crazy
and he plays as someone play on a x-box or PlayStation
go Messi go
totally incredible
out of word to say

Best player in the world
Messi=The best
5th best in history and 3rd best of the dacade
he is just the best!

messei is genius no one can be better then him and I wish he play good ever as he is now doing it he can dribble ronado ronaldino and anyone that think he can cheat messie he nithing to messie

More comments about Lio Messi

8Jari Litmanen

+2He is the best player the world has ever witnessed. He can see the whole pitch better than anyone else. TIMO JUTILA once said that Jari is also really good at making fantastic barbecue. That said, he is without a doubt the greatest player of all time.

+2The last of the Mohicans of “total football”. While at Ajax he taught everything to Zlatan except those dirty stuff which Zlatan learnt from violent movies when he was kid.

+1Was an outstanding player, and according to my Finnish mates, he is still very good when he plays. An absolute genius. Legend.

More comments about Jari Litmanen

9Zico

“he is the best turkey footballer over i’m love it

he’s the best; )

“his free kick could kill any goalkeeper…

Mpafoklaniaris

“He is a coach of FENERBAHÇE…

Fenerbahçe was played quarter final match with chelsea in CL.

Fenerbahçe will be most valuable football clup with Arthur ZİCO

WE LOVE WHÄ°TE PELE ‘ZÄ°CO’

MAWENSY

More comments about Zico

10Gheorghe Hagi

“truly one of the greatest players what the world had, only a miracle had held back Romania to reach the World Cup 1994 Semi Finals with him

MatrixGuy

“The BEST player in Turkey and one of the best in the world.. Turkey and Galatasaray will never forget him!..

LEO75

“The current romanian football needs NOW a football player like Hagi! (or more players better than Ghorghe Hagi, like me:) )

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

CIA 95% finished decrypting Osama’s papers

June 9, 2011 – 7:23 am

 

 
 
 In this May 3, 2011 file photo, local residents gather outside a house, where al-Qaida leader …
By KIMBERLY DOZIER, AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier, Ap Intelligence Writer – Wed Jun 8, 7:04 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The U.S. is tracking possible new terror targets and stepping up surveillance of operatives previously considered minor al-Qaida figures after digging through the mountain of correspondence seized from Osama bin Laden’s hideout, officials say. The trove of material is filling in blanks on how al-Qaida operatives work, think and fit in the organization, they say.

The new information is the result of five weeks of round-the-clock work by a CIA-led team of data analysts, cyber experts and translators who are 95 percent finished decrypting and translating the years of material and expect to complete the effort by mid-June, two U.S. officials say.

Al-Qaida operatives worldwide are feeling the heat, with at least two of them altering their travel plans in recent weeks in apparent alarm that they might become the targets of another U.S. raid, one official said.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the review of bin Laden files taken by U.S. Navy SEALs in a May 2 raid on his Abbottabad, Pakistan, hideout.

The items taken by the SEALs from bin Laden’s second-floor office included a handwritten journal, five computers, 10 hard drives and 110 thumb drives.

Copies of the material have been distributed to agencies from the FBI to the Defense Intelligence Agency to continue long-term analysis, one official said. The material is now classified, greatly limiting the number of people who can see it and making any detailed public accounting of the contents a crime.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress on Wednesday that one of the early assessments from the trove is that al-Qaida remains committed to attacking the United States.

“We continue to exploit the materials seized from bin Laden’s compound” and “we are focused on the new information about the homeland threat gained from this operation,” Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering legislation that would extend Mueller’s job for up to two more years.

There is nothing in the bin Laden files so far to indicate an imminent attack, three officials said. The U.S. has increased its vigilance regarding some of the targets bin Laden suggests to his operatives, from smaller U.S. cities to mass transport systems, to U.S. embassies abroad and even oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.

A law enforcement official briefed on the process said investigators have been analyzing raw digital data found on multiple hard drives and flash drives, and that some of it consists of sequences of numbers. Investigators were trying to discern potential bank account or phone numbers that might point to al-Qaida contacts in the United States or elsewhere, or codes that could produce other leads, said the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the analysis and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Especially useful in the communications between bin Laden and his followers from Asia to Europe to Africa is the light they shed on the personalities of known al-Qaida operatives and what drives the various terrorist commanders who corresponded with bin Laden, officials said.

Like an email chain showing office politics, with various members of the hierarchy weighing in and sometimes back-stabbing each other, the communications show different officials vying for the boss’ attention and working the system, the officials said.

Some proposed daring raids aimed at causing mass casualties, like the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, while others proposed smaller targets to circumvent increased security measures worldwide.

While bin Laden continued to laud the merits of large-scale attacks, the records show he also embraced the shift to smaller operations carried out by Yemen’s al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula as a way to retain the broader organization’s image as a viable terrorist group able to strike U.S. targets, officials said.

It’s not clear that any of the affiliates who were proposing some of the larger-scale attacks had the ability to carry them out, one of the officials said. After the initial proposal of an idea, there were no follow-up proposals in the trove describing specific resources available to go after a suggested large-scale target.

And while the al-Qaida chief advised his operatives on targets to strike, and helped them devise ways to hit those targets, there is no evidence in the files that any of the ideas bin Laden proposed led to a specific action that was later carried out, the officials say. For instance, though bin Laden advised Europe-based militants to attack in unspecified continental European countries just before Christmas, the threat never resulted in an actual attempted attack, the officials said.

There have been small-scale violent incidents in Denmark, where bin Laden had repeatedly encouraged followers to attack because of disparaging references to the Muslim prophet Mohammed in Danish media, the officials said. But he did not seem to be involved in planning those specific incidents, the officials said.

As for bin Laden’s suggestion to hit oil tankers, there is an indication of intent, with operatives seeking the size and construction of tankers, and concluding it’s best to blow them up from the inside because of the strength of their hulls. In a confidential warning obtained by The Associated Press, the FBI and the Homeland Security Department said that al-Qaida operatives also recommended test runs, but there’s no evidence the plot went any further, the officials say.

The U.S. has briefed allies such as Britain, Germany and other countries in Europe on the contents of the trove relevant to their nations or their portions of the counterterror fight, officials said.

They have also shared some of the information with Pakistan, as part of an effort to renew cooperation with Islamabad, in the wake of the raid, U.S. and Pakistani officials said. The U.S. hid the operation from Pakistan for fear that the raid plans would leak to militants, but the unilateral action brought protests from Pakistani leaders over what they called an affront to their sovereignty.

High-level U.S. visits have aimed to take the edge off that dispute, including a visit by CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell, who met with intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha last month.

After that outreach, Pakistan allowed the CIA to re-examine the bin Laden compound. Pakistan also returned the tail section of a U.S. stealth Black Hawk helicopter that broke off when the SEALs blew up the aircraft to destroy its secret noise- and radar-deadening technology.

The investigative team, made up mainly of intelligence officers from both nations, will compare the CIA’s analysis of computer and written files with Pakistani intelligence gleaned from interrogations of those who frequented or lived near the bin Laden compound, the officials said.

Pakistan’s intelligence service has been interviewing those who spent time at the compound, from a guard who used to do the compound’s grocery shopping, to an extremist sheik who came in weekly to teach the 18 children that Navy SEALs counted at the compound the night of the raid.

Pakistani officials described the emerging picture of life inside the compound. One official described it as bleak, almost prison-like in its austerity.

Some of the roughly two dozen surviving residents told Pakistani intelligence they subsisted on a weekly delivery of one goat, which they slaughtered inside the compound, plus milk from a couple of cows kept in the courtyard. There were also eggs from chickens that roamed the courtyard, and vegetables from a small kitchen garden.

Bin Laden’s upper apartments were bare of paint or adornment on the walls. There were only two beds, a double and a single, both of poor quality, one Pakistani official said. Officials haven’t determined the sleeping arrangements for bin Laden and his three wives among the beds, he added.

Bin Laden’s rooms did have the only air conditioner in the compound, in a region where summer temperatures can top 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There were no heaters, despite winters where temperatures can drop to freezing. That could explain the blanket bin Laden clutches around him in one of the videos taken from his office.

___

Associated press writers Pete Yost in Washington and Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.

File picture shows Osama bin Laden sitting with ...

Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden (L) sits with his adviser and purported successor Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian linked to the al Qaeda network, during an interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir (not pictured), in a file image supplied by the Dawn newspaper on November 10, 2001. Osama bin Laden’s longtime lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, said the United States faces rebellion throughout the Muslim world after killing the al Qaeda leader, according to a 28-minute YouTube recording posted on June 8, 2011. In what appeared to be his first public response to bin Laden’s death in a U.S. commando raid in Pakistan in May 2011, the Egyptian-born Zawahri warned Americans not to gloat and vowed to press ahead with al Qaeda’s campaign against the United States and its allies. REUTERS/Hamid Mir/Editor/Ausaf Newspaper for Daily Dawn/Files « Read less

(AFGHANISTAN – Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT IMAGES OF THE DAY)

 Other posts about Osama bin Laden:

CIA 95% finished decrypting Osama’s papers

      The Associated Press reported on June 8, 2011:    In this May 3, 2011 file photo, local residents gather outside a house, where al-Qaida leader … By KIMBERLY DOZIER, AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier, Ap Intelligence Writer – Wed Jun 8, 7:04 pm ET WASHINGTON – The U.S. is tracking possible new terror targets and stepping up […]

 

Is God responsible for evil, many Arkansas Times bloggers say yes!!(Part 3)

Below is a post from the Arkansas Times Blog that I am responding to: Who is a better person? The one who helps their fellow man and does what is right because they it’s the right thing to do, or one who treats people well only because they are threatened with an eternal punishment? Posted […]

 

For small group of CIA veterans, the death of Osama bin Laden was revenge for two CIA deaths

1998 Embassy Bomber Killed By U.S. Airstrike in Somalia Jan 10, 2007 CBS News Investigative Reporter Phil Hirschkorn reports Mohammed, known as Haroun Fazil to his fellow terrorists, had a key role in the twin truck bombings of two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998, which killed 224 people and injured […]

 

 

 

Osama bin Laden’s last audio recording released by Al Qaeda

  Broadcast As the U.S. fought wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bin Laden periodically released audio and video recordings (like this one, from 2007) calling for the destruction of America and its allies Al Qaeda release Osama recording Al Qaeda have released a posthumous audio recording by Osama bin Laden, in which he praises revolutions […]

Taliban visited Osama bin Laden at his hideout in the past

A still from a bin Laden video released by the US Department of Defense. The al-Qaeda leader was visited in Pakistan by representatives of the Taliban. Osama bin Laden Source: Reuters Published: Friday, May 25, 2007 7:34 AEST Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden speaks at a news conference in Afghanistan on May 26, 1998.   […]

Pictures and Video of aftermath of May 13, 2011 attack in Pakistan

Soldiers stand guard Soldiers of Pakistan army and police officer stand guard after a bombing in Shabqadar near Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, May 13, 2011. A police officer says the death toll in a pair of explosions outside a security force training center in northwest Pakistan has risen to 80. Liaqat Ali Khan says 66 […]

“We have done this to avenge…”Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban

Soldier of Pakistani para military force A soldier of Pakistani para military force collects the belongings of his colleagues after a bombing in Shabqadar near Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, May 13, 2011. A police officer says the death toll in a pair of explosions outside a security force training center in northwest Pakistan has risen […]

NYC Terror Plot Arrest May 12, 2011

NYC terror plot arrests The Associated Press reported today: Two U.S. residents, including one who complained that the world was treating Muslims “like dogs,” bought guns and a grenade and wanted to carry out a terror plot against a New York synagogue, officials said Thursday. One of the alleged homegrown terrorists also expressed interest in […]

Mike Huckabee to Osama bin Laden: “Welcome to Hell” (Part 8)Woody Allen’s movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” is a perfect example of why hell the only “enforcement factor”

Crimes & Misdemeanors (pictured is Judah and his criminal brother, ultimately his brother hires a hitman to take out Judah’s girlfriend who threatens to turn Judah over to the cops) Crimes And Misdemeanors 1989 9/13 Adrian Rogers – Crossing God’s Deadline Part 4 crimes & misdemeanors Best scene of the movie!!!! 

Osama bin Laden knew big body count on level of 9/11 was needed to get U.S. forces to withdraw

    Next Back BroadcastAs the U.S. fought wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bin Laden periodically released audio and video recordings (like this one, from 2007) calling for the destruction of America and its allies. Kimberly Dozier of the Associated Press reported today in her article, “Bin Laden’s diary shows he eyed new targets, big […]

2007 Interview with Jane Felix-Browne concerning her husband Omar bin Laden (pictures included)

  Jane Felix-Browne, a 51-year-old grandmother and parish councillor from Cheshire has married a son of Osama bin Laden after a holiday romance       A British divorcee said Wednesday she has married Omar bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader’s fourth son, after they met in Egypt last fall.Jane Felix-Browne, a 51-year-old grandmother from Moulton, […]

Hamza bin Laden wants to keep his father’s family business of terror going

AP Osama’s youngest son, Hamza, is believed to have escaped the compound where his terror fiend dad was killed by SEALs. Chuck Bennett of the NY Post in his article “Osama’s youngest son escaped capture,” wrote this morning: Osama bin Laden’s youngest known son — a budding teen terrorist groomed since childhood to wage jihad […]

 

Osama bin Laden’s sons think U.S. broke international law

  Omar bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden, in his apartment in Al-Rahad city near Cairo in 2008 The New York Times reported today: The adult sons of Osama bin Laden have lashed out at President Obama over their father’s death, accusing the United States of violating its basic legal principles by killing an […]

 

President Obama on 60 minutes yesterday

  Pete Souza / The White House   The White House, May 1, 2011 Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama, along with members of the national-security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1, 2011. Please note: a classified […]

 

Details of how Osama bin Laden was caught

Bin Laden was born in 1957, reportedly the 17th of the 57 children of Mohammed bin Laden, the owner of the largest construction company in Saudi Arabia. He was raised under conservative Wahhabi tenets and, while enrolled at King Abdel Aziz University in Jidda, developed a belief in pan-Islamicism, a philosophy that stresses a united […]

 

President Obama: Osama bin Laden probably had support network in Pakistan

  Pakistani policemen walk Pakistani policemen walk past a compound, surrounded in red fabric, where locals reported a firefight took place overnight in Abbotabad, located in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province May 2, 2011. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan on Sunday, ending a nearly 10-year worldwide […]

 

CIA Chief Leon Panetta said harsh interrogation techniques yielded some of the information that led to Osama bin Laden

  George Bennett in his article “Waterboarding and the trail to lin Laden: CIA chief acknowledges, West supports,: May 3, 2011, PostOnPolitics.com , notes:    Panetta CIA Chief Leon Panetta told NBC News that waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques yielded some of the information that helped the U.S. find and kill Osama bin Laden.   Panetta said it’s […]

 

Mike Huckabee to Osama bin Laden: “Welcome to Hell” (Part 5)

Picture of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee Adrian Rogers – Crossing God’s Deadline. Part 1 John Brummett in his article “Huckabee speaks for bad guy below,” Arkansas News Bureau, May 5, 2011 had to say: Are we supposed to understand and accept that Mike Huckabee is in hell where he has official duties as a […]

 

Al Qaeda confirms Osama bin Laden is dead

  Not only do we have the word of President Obama that Osama bin Laden is dead, but now Al Qaeda sources have confirmed it.    CNN reported on May 6, 2011: Al Qaeda released a statement on jihadist forums Friday confirming the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden, according to SITE Intelligence Group, […]

 

Take a look at videos captured at Osama bin Laden’s compound

Osama bin Laden ‘Home Videos’ Released Videos were seized during the raid on the Bin Laden compound. 05/07/2011  Newly released videos show Osama bin Laden inside his hideout, watching himself on television and rehearsing for terrorist propaganda videos.  Kimberly Dozier, and Lolita C. Baldor of the The Associated Press reported today: The videos, released by […]

 

Osama bin Laden had plan for attack on 9/11/11

  The Associated Press reported on May 5, 2011: Some of the first information gleaned from Osama bin Laden’s compound indicates al-Qaida considered attacking U.S. trains on the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. But counterterrorism officials say they believe the planning never got beyond the initial phase and have no recent intelligence pointing […]

Inside Osama bin Laden’s Compound

In the pantry, among the few untouched items are two cartons of eggs. (ABC News)   President Obama deserves a lot of credit for  sending the team in. I personally do not like many of the policies of this administration, but this raid was planned very well, and I am glad he made the decisions […]

Osama Bin Laden had several wives at Compound and one may have helped seals

The Los Angeles Times article, “Bin Laden’s wives are all alive; one may have identified him,” reported yesterday : Osama bin Laden may be at the bottom of the ocean, but all of his wives are alive, and one of them may have identified him to the SEALs. Time magazine reports that “a U.S. intelligence official […]

Will new Osama bil Laden video clip show up after his death?

CNN’s Drew Griffin reports on the chain of events that lead up to the death of Osama bin Laden. The Huffington Post reported last night: Osama bin Laden may be dead, but U.S. officials expect at least one new bin Laden tape to surface soon, according to multiple reports. According to The New York Daily […]

The process of finding Osama:”Ghul was the linchpin,” a U.S. official said, the CIA identified the courier’s real name: Sheikh Abu Ahmed

  A drawing, released by the United State Department of Defense May 2, 2011, shows the compound that Osama bin Laden was killed in on Monday in Abbottabad,Pakistan Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo of the Associated Press reported this morning: When one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted aides picked up the phone last year, […]

Inside the Situation Room with President Obama as they watched live the operation to take out Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden, the elusive terror mastermind killed by Navy SEALs in an intense firefight, was hunted down based on information first gleaned years ago from detainees at secret CIA prison sites. Picture below from the Tolbert Report: President Barack Obama (2nd L) and Vice President Joe Biden (L), along with members of the national […]

Osama bin Laden in hell? Huckabee says yes!!!

1-4 ISLAM -VS- CHRISTIANITY – The Concept of God DEBATE Last night I was on one side of the house and I heard an argument between my son Wilson and my wife. The argument was over if Osama Bin Laden was going to hell or not. My son said we would not know for sure […]

Obama’s re-election chances helped by Osama being brought to justice? Timing is everything!!!

George H.W.Bush’s Gulf War was very successful, nevertheless, it could not lead him to a re-election.   Bill Clinton’s success in 1992 election attempt was brought on in part to the public’s forgetfulness. The chances of President Obama’s re-election have to improved since the events of yesterday. Last night people were singing in the streets. […]

Osama bin Laden killed by USA forces in Pakistan on Sunday morning May 1, 2011

Obama’s Speach On Osamas Death Al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden is dead and the United States has his body, a person familiar with the developments says. (May 1) George W. Bush has to be the happiest man in the world tonight. The mastermind of 9/11 was killed by the USA, and to me that tells […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Lightning Strike at Camp Shelby

June 9, 2011 – 6:54 am

My son has spent a lot of time at Camp Shelby, but he was on duty in Arkansas at the time of the lightning strike at Camp Shelby in Mississippi.

Nashville Lightning

 
Courtesy of WSMV-TV
 

Lightning Strike At Mississippi Military Base Sends 77 To Hospital

By Michael Martinez CNN 
 
— A lightning strike Wednesday afternoon sent 77 Air Force ROTC cadets to hospitals in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, area, where they were all responsive and in stable condition, according to spokeswoman Maj. Deidre Musgrave of Camp Shelby.

 

Two of the 77 were sent by ambulance, and the remaining 75 were sent to the hospital by Camp Shelby buses, Musgrave told CNN. 

All 77 were college students enrolled in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, which uses Camp Shelby as its summer training site, Musgrave said. 

The cadets, all of whom are seeking to become Air Force officers, come from universities across the country and had been scheduled to spend two weeks at an on-site forward operating base simulated training center, Musgrave said. 

Musgrave said the base had been under a severe thunderstorm warning when the lightning strike occurred and that the facility had been receiving reports of bad weather all day. She said she didn’t know what the cadets were doing when the accident occurred. 

CNN affiliate WDAM reported that four of the cadets were close to the lightning when it struck. 

The personnel were sent for medical evaluation because they were in the area of the lightning strike at a training site on Camp Shelby around 2 p.m., Musgrave said in a news release. 

“We always want to be safe,” she said. 

The remaining personnel at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center quickly responded to the situation to ensure that anyone injured received medical attention, Musgrave said.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Will Maria Shriver’s marriage survive Arnold Schwarzenegger’s admission of infidelity? I hope so (Part 28)

June 9, 2011 – 6:39 am

Weekend To Remember Conference Testimony

Here’s a couple who went to a FamilyLife Conference and how it made a difference in their marriage.

Christina Schwarzenegger Governor Schwarzenegger goes to cast his vote on election day with his wife Maria Shriver and their daughters Christina and Katherine (her first time voting), at the Kenter Canyon elementary school in Brentwood.

The Schwarzenegger Family Voting

Governor Schwarzenegger goes to cast his vote on election day with his wife Maria Shriver and their daughters Christina and Katherine (her first time voting), at the Kenter Canyon elementary school in Brentwood.

Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life?

Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In the you tube clip above she comments:

“Like a lot of you I’m in transition: people come up to me all the time, asking, what are you doing next?” she said, adding: “It’s so stressful to not know what you are doing next when people ask what you are doing and they can’t believe you don’t know what you are doing.”

“I’d like to hear from other people who are in transition,” she said. “How did you find your transition: Personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, financial? How did you get through it?”

Mrs. Shriver has asked for spiritual input and I personally think that unless she gets the spiritual help that she needs then she will end up in the divorce court. I am starting a series on how a marriage can survive an infidelity. My first suggestion would be to attend a “Weekend to Remember” put on by the organization “Family Life” out of Little Rock, Arkansas. I actually posted this as a response to Mrs. Shriver’s request on you tube.

I was very encouraged by this story below:

From Home-less to Home-maker:How God transformed a rebellious teenager into His ambassador for the family by Carrie King
You might say that my passion for the family today is surprising, considering where I’ve come from. When I was a teenager I didn’t even like kids. It was all about me and what made me happy.

At that time, I couldn’t have imagined my life today: a mom with three children. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that some day my husband and I would be reaching out to help other couples become passionate about marriage and family.

My life seemed okay until I was 15 years old and my family moved from Arizona to South Dakota. I guess you could have described me as a social butterfly back then. Lunch was the most important part of my school day because I got to see all of my friends. I had just made the dance team … and then my dad got transferred.

I was so angry about moving that I became an unruly, disrespectful teen. I was downright mean to my parents. They tried to make it up to me by having a going-away party, but on that last night at home, unbeknownst to them, I was date-raped. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t tell anyone except for one girlfriend, and she didn’t understand.

I never wanted a boy to take advantage of me again, so I decided that I had to be in control. I became aggressive sexually and had many immoral relationships. When my folks found out what my boyfriend and I were doing they became angry and told us to stop. But anything they told me not to do was just an invitation for me to do it.

On my own

When I was a senior in high school, I had had enough and moved out of the house. I knew that it was up to me to take care of myself. Somehow I managed to barely graduate, and I earned enough money working at the mall to pay bills.

Things went from bad to worse. I had roommate after roommate and relationship after relationship. Then some strange guy sent me a card at work and said he’d seen me and wanted to go out with me. He even gave me his phone number.

I was living in an abusive relationship at the time. My boyfriend called me some really degrading names and said that he didn’t want anything to do with me. I was devastated. All I ever wanted was to belong … for someone to love me.

It seemed like my only real friends in life were Fred and Abraham, my goldfish. They were very forgiving, and kept living even if I forgot to feed them for a day or two. I still had them.

“This is not the plan … “

Valentine’s Day was approaching, and I had no boyfriend. I couldn’t bear the thought of not having a date, so I did the unthinkable: I called the strange guy who had sent me the note. He said that we could go out—after he went to church, of all things!

But before we were able to meet, I got some more bad news: I got kicked out of the house where I rented a room. I just couldn’t take life any more and swallowed a bottle of pills, wanting desperately to end it all. My roommate came in and saw the pills. She took me to the hospital where they pumped my stomach … and called my parents.

During eight days of intensive therapy, never-ending tears seemed to flow from my eyes. God seemed to say to me, “Carrie, this is not the plan that I have for you.”

My parents said that I could move back home. Since I had no place else to go, that’s what I did.

When that strange guy called to find out why I hadn’t made our date, I apologized and explained that there had been a family emergency. Then I thought, “Hey, I’ve got to be real.” So, I told him what happened—how I had tried to commit suicide. I thought, “That’ll scare him off!” But it didn’t.

Bryan King was the first real date I ever had. We talked for three hours and he explained how I could have a personal relationship with God. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

The emptiness was gone. God seemed to say to me, “You are valuable because I value you.”

Bryan said that he never intended to date me; he had just wanted to share the hope of Jesus Christ with me. But I guess God had other plans, because we were engaged six weeks later and married eight months after our first date. I’m sure people were making wagers at the wedding on how long our marriage would last, but we’ve been married now for over 10 years. We have three wonderful children.

A welcome break

After we had been married three years, a good friend of Bryan’s invited us to a Weekend to Remember® marriage getaway. “You guys are going to love it! It’s a fun getaway, and you’ll get a night in a hotel with your wife.”

At the time, it seemed that all we talked about was when Samantha (our oldest) needed her diaper changed, or what time Brady (our second child) needed to eat. A night away from the kids with me was all Bryan had to hear. And a weekend getaway sounded pretty good to me, too.

Although we learned a lot at that first getaway, we found ourselves right back in the world’s pattern of 50/50—you do your part, and I’ll do mine. It was so easy to get into the rut of, “I got up with the baby last night, it’s your turn.”

But the principles that we learned helped us identify that we were heading down the wrong path. We were able to make adjustments and look to God’s way instead of the world’s way. Instead of looking at circumstances and claiming our individual rights, we started looking for ways to serve one another and stopped keeping track of who did what.

After that weekend, Bryan and I started setting bi-weekly date nights and became intentional about our time together. We found it very important to stay “checked into” each other’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas … even when everything around us screamed, “Check out.”

Volunteers with FamilyLife

After attending our first Weekend to Remember, Bryan’s good friend (the one who invited us) said, “Isn’t this something to be passionate about?” He encouraged us to volunteer on the city ministry team that helped promote the conference in Sioux Falls, S.D., and we’ve been on it ever since.

Being FamilyLife volunteers has given us a ministry that we can do together. We’ve grown so close to one another and to the others on the city ministry team. Sometimes we ask ourselves, “If we don’t fight for these marriages, who’s going to?”

When you look around a conference ballroom and see the happy faces, you can’t even imagine anyone having marital problems. And then you read the prayer requests, where couples indicate that a husband has committed adultery, or a wife is pregnant with somebody else’s child, or they are struggling with alcoholism or abuse … there are so many deep-rooted problems.

And then you read an evaluation that says, “My husband accepted Christ today. I don’t know what this means for our marriage but praise God that his heart is softening.” It’s so exciting to see people not only opening up their hearts at a Weekend to Remember, but also learning Who to turn to. And that’s God—Jesus Christ.

God used FamilyLife in Bryan’s and my marriage to bring His Word to life, and we want to help other couples experience the same thing. We are passionate about battling to preserve God’s families. FamilyLife presents the tools. They give the practical application of God’s Word. A Weekend to Remember just puts God’s blueprints for the family into real life words with the speakers and the projects. The conference is all biblically based; that’s why it works.

God’s plans for my life

If you had known me 11 years ago, I doubt that you would have believed that anything good would’ve come out of my life. I was even named Mrs. South Dakota in 2005 and my platform was the family. Who would have imagined that?

Who would have guessed 11 years ago that I would have a strong marriage and three wonderful children?

Who would have guessed that I would be a volunteer for a ministry to marriages and families—that God would use me to help strengthen homes?

We are told in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Even when I couldn’t see it, God had great plans for my life!

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Humanist asserts: “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (Hitler’s letter from 1919 revealed)

June 8, 2011 – 4:15 pm
 

The Associated Press reported today: 

 The signature under the typewritten words on yellowing sheets of nearly century-old paper is unmistakable: Adolf Hitler, with the last few scribbled letters drooping downward.

The date is 1919 and, decades before the Holocaust, the 30-year-old German soldier — born in Austria — penned what are believed to be Hitler’s first written comments calling for the annihilation of Jews.

Hitler “set the gold standard about man’s inhumanity to man,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, named after the late Nazi hunter.

Ziegler is said to have found the four typed pages in a Nazi archive near Nuremberg, Germany, in the final months of World War II.

“The danger posed by Jewry for our people today finds expression in the undeniable aversion of wide sections of our people,” Hitler wrote in German. “The cause of this aversion … arises mostly from personal contact and from the personal impression that the individual Jew leaves — almost always an unfavorable one.”

In one section, Hitler said that a powerful government could curtail the so-called “Jewish threat” by denying their rights. But “its final aim, however, must be the uncompromising removal of the Jews altogether.”

At the time, Hitler was serving in the German army, and had taken to riling up the troops with his anti-Semitic rants. A superior officer urged Hitler to put his ideas on paper.


Adolf Hitler (shown left-under x) during World War I with fellow German soldiers. The dog
had the name Fuchsl and was actually Hitler’s pet during the war until it was stolen from him.

______________________________________________

Known as the Gemlich letter, the document was certified as authentic in 1988 by handwriting expert Charles Hamilton, who had revealed the infamous “Hitler Diaries” to be forgeries.

Adolf Gemlich created propaganda for the German army. Hitler wrote the letter to him at the suggestion of Captain Ulrich Mayr, to help popularize the notion that someone was responsible for Germany’s defeat in World War I.

Hitler signed his letter, “Mit vorzueglicher Hochachtung,” meaning with deepest esteem.

“This is a seminal document that belongs to future generations,” said the rabbi.

Early in his career Hitler was popular and many of the German people bought into his anti-semetic views. Does the atheist have an intellectual basis to condemn Hitler’s actions?

____________________________________ 

 Francis Schaeffer
Francis Schaeffer pictured above.
 
Humanist Abigail Ann Martin asserted, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (The Humanist, September/October 1997, p. 2.). 
 
I am simply amazed at such a hateful statement!!! However, we know from the above letter that Hitler was popular with the army in 1919, and had “taken to riling up the troops with his anti-Semitic rants. A superior officer urged Hitler to put his ideas on paper.”
View Image
 
I personally met someone who was part of the Hitler youth movement in Germany in the 1930’s and until his dying day he believed that Hitler was right. I had a basis for knowing that Hitler was wrong and here it is below.
 
It is my view that according the Bible all men are created by God and are valuable.  However, the atheist has no basis for coming to this same conclusion. Francis Schaeffer put it this way:
 
We cannot deal with people like human beings, we cannot deal with them on the high level of true humanity, unless we really know their origin—who they are. God tells man who he is. God tells us that He created man in His image. So man is some- thing wonderful.
 
Francis Schaeffer died in 1984, but there is a website dedicated to his works. In 1972 he wrote the book “He is There and He is Not Silent.” Here is the statement that sums up that book: 

One of philosophy’s biggest problems is that anything exists at all and has the form that it does. Another is that man exists as a personal being and makes true choices and has moral responsibility. The Bible gives sufficient answers to these problems. In fact, the only sufficient answer is that the infinite-personal triune God is there and He is not silent. He has spoken to man in the Bible.

I am a big Woody Allen movie fan and no other movie better demonstrates the need for an afterlife  than Allen’s 1989 film  Crimes and Misdemeanors. This film also brought up the view that Hitler believed that “might made right.” How can an atheist argue against that?  Basically Woody Allen is attacking the weaknesses in his own agnostic point of view!! Take a look at the video clip below when he says in the absence of God, man has to do the right thing. What chance is there that will happen?

Crimes and Misdemeanors is  about a eye doctor who hires a killer to murder his mistress because she continually threatens to blow the whistle on his past questionable, probably illegal, business activities. Afterward he is haunted by guilt. His Jewish father had taught him that God sees all and will surely punish the evildoer.

But the doctor’s crime is never discovered. Later in the film, Judah reflects on the conversation his father had with Judah’s unbelieving Aunt May during a Jewish Sedar dinner  many years ago:

“Come on Sol, open your eyes. Six million Jews burned to death by the Nazi’s, and they got away with it because might makes right,” says Aunt May.

Sol replies, “May, how did they get away with it?”

Judah asks, “If a man kills, then what?”

Sol responds to his son, “Then in one way or another he will be punished.”

Aunt May comments, “I say if he can do it and get away with it and he chooses not to be bothered by the ethics, then he is home free.”

Judah’s final conclusion was that might did make right. He observed that one day, because of this conclusion, he woke up and the cloud of guilt was gone. He was, as his aunt said, “home free.”

The basic question Woody Allen is presenting to his own agnostic humanistic worldview is: If you really believe there is no God there to punish you in an afterlife, then why not murder if you can get away with it?  The secular humanist worldview that modern man has adopted does not work in the real world that God has created. God “has planted eternity in the human heart…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). This is a direct result of our God-given conscience. The apostle Paul said it best in Romans 1:19, “For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God  has shown it to them” (Amplified Version).

It’s no wonder, then, that one of Allen’s fellow humanists would comment, “Certain moral truths — such as do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie — do have a special status of being not just ‘mere opinion’ but bulwarks of humanitarian action. I have no intention of saying, ‘I think Hitler was wrong.’ Hitler WAS wrong.” (Gloria Leitner, “A Perspective on Belief,” The Humanist, May/June 1997, pp.38-39). Here Leitner is reasoning from her God-given conscience and not from humanist philosophy. It wasn’t long before she received criticism.

Humanist Abigail Ann Martin responded, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (The Humanist, September/October 1997, p. 2.). Humanists don’t really have an intellectual basis for saying that Hitler was wrong, but their God-given conscience tells them that they are wrong on this issue.

Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen – 1989) – Final scenes

Another example of how a God-given conscience is affecting a very popular singer can be found in Chris Martin of Coldplay Evidently  Chris Martin who said he resented dogmatic religious views a few years ago, has now written a grammy winning song that pictures an evil king being punished in an afterlife. (Check out earlier post.) Could it be that his God-given conscience prompted him to put that line in? Or do men like Hitler get off home free as Woody Allen suggested in Crimes and Misdemeanors?

Other posts that deal with Coldplay:

Three things that do not bring lasting Satisfaction, (Coldplay’s spiritual search Part 5)

Coldplay – 42 Live Coldplay perform on the french television channel W9. I wrote this article a couple of years ago: The Spiritual Search for the Afterlife Russ Breimeier rightly noted that it seems that Coldplay is “on the verge of identifying a great Truth” and their latest CD is very provocative. Many songs mention […]

Are Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin looking for Spiritual Answers? (Coldplay’s spiritual search Part 4)

  CP I wrote this article a couple of years ago. Are Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin looking for Spiritual Answers? Just like King Solomon’s predicament in the Book of Ecclesiastes, both of these individuals are very wealthy, famous, and successful, but they still are seeking satisfying answers to life’s greatest questions even though it […]

Insight into what Coldplay meant by “St. Peter won’t call my name” (Series on Coldplay’s spiritual search, Part 3)

Coldplay seeks to corner the market on earnest and expressive rock music that currently appeals to wide audiences Here is an article I wrote a couple of years ago about Chris Martin’s view of hell. He says he does not believe in it but for some reason he writes a song that teaches that it […]

Will Coldplay’s 2011 album continue on spiritual themes found in 2008 Viva La Vida? (Series on Coldplay’s spiritual search, Part 2)

Views:2 By waymedia Coldplay Coldplay – Life In Technicolor ii Back in 2008 I wrote a paper on the spiritual themes of Coldplay’s album Viva La Vida and I predicted this spiritual search would continue in the future. Below is the second part of the paper, “Coldplay’s latest musical lyrics indicate a Spiritual Search for the […]

Will Coldplay’s 2011 album continue on spiritual themes found in 2008 Viva La Vida? (Series on Coldplay’s spiritual search, Part 1)

Coldplay performing “Glass of Water.” Back in 2008 I wrote a paper on the spiritual themes of Coldplay’s album Viva La Vida and I predicted this spiritual search would continue in the future. Below is the first part of the paper, “Coldplay’s latest musical lyrics indicate a Spiritual Search for the Afterlife.” Coldplay’s latest musical […]

The wait is over, Coldplay single “Every Teardrop is a waterfall”

Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Official) The new single – download it now from iTunes at http://cldp.ly/itunescp (except in the UK, where it will be released to download stores at 12.01am on Sunday June 5th). Written by Berryman / Buckland / Champion / Martin / Allen / Anderson. Produced by Markus Dravs, Dan […]

 
By Everette Hatcher III, on June 4, 2011 at 1:43 pm, under Current Events. No Comment
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Comments (0)