Newslinks – 09/12/09

September 12, 2009 at 9:24 am | Posted in Newslinks | Leave a comment
Tags: 1.2 million, 15 year olds, abortion, anti-American, ateasetees, atomic bomb, bailout, billion soul summit, Bin Laden, biological attack, cartoons, Catholic, Chavez, Christian, Christianity, Chrysler, citizenship verification, clergy, climate czar, divorce, drug sting, earthquake, economy, ELCA, evangelism, family friendly movies, Fannie Mae, fat cells into stem cells, GM, God, gospel, government, healthcare, healthcare claims debunked, healthcare petition, I Hate Obama, illegal aliens, independent, India, Indonesia, insurance, Iran, Jesus, Kenya, legal bills, liar, Lieberman, malpractice, march on DC, Medicare, misconduct, music, Muslim, Obama, Obamacare, obesity, Orissa, Pakistan, parenting, pastor, peace, Pelosi, persistent prayer, Planned Parenthood, recession, reconciliation, religious song banned, sex lives, shot, Sudan, suicide bombings, surgeon general, swine flu, taxpayers, Tea Party, terror attacks, test ban treaty, town hall, Uganda, unemployment, UNESCO, US history, Venezuela, virtual church conference, Yale, you lie

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

ELCA Leader Urges Flock to Continue Conversation

Gospel Music Association Head Steps Down 

Massive Christian Festival Kicks Off Labor Day Weekend 

Web Site Invites Churches to Engage in Online Mission 

7.0 Quake Leaves 28,000 Homeless in Indonesia 

Schools Should Teach Christianity’s Role in U.S. History, Say Evangelicals 

Health Care Bill Would Reduce Abortion, Says Progressive Think Tank 

Indonesia Quake Toll Expected to Pass 100 

Poll: American Giving-Away Trend Continues 

Baptist Pastor Fatally Shot by Police in Drug Sting 

 
Global ‘Ecological Board of Directors’ Envisioned by State Department’s Climate Czar
(CNSNews.com) – Todd Stern, now the State Department’s special envoy for climate change, once pushed for the creation of an annual “E8” summit to address environmental issues. Stern represents the United States in international environmental negotiations, including the upcoming United Nations Conference on Climate Change taking place in Copenhagen in December.

Chief Treasury Economist Says White House Economic Forecast is ‘Smoother’ Than Can Be Expected in Reality
(CNSNews.com) – Alan Krueger, assistant secretary for economic policy and chief economist at the Treasury Department, told reporters that the economic projections used by the White House–which foresee a decade of uninterrupted economic growth ahead–are “smoother” than what can be expected in reality. Krueger, speaking to reporters at a Friday briefing, said numerous factors could affect and alter those estimates.

Administration’s Suggestions for Teachers: Read Books about Obama, Post Obama Quotes on Classroom Walls
(CNSNews.com) – The “corrected” lesson plans from the U.S. Department of Education suggest that schools around the country use President Obama’s speech to students on Tuesday as a “teachable moment.” The “menu of classroom activities” still calls for teachers to read books about Obama and to post quotations from Obama in large print on classroom walls.

Study Shows Sharp Increase in TV Ads Soliciting Plaintiffs for Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
(CNSNews.com) – Democrats demanding health-care reform are not saying much about medical malpractice lawsuits. But a new study indicates that tort reform should be included in any meaningful health care overhaul. The study — conducted for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform – says television advertisements soliciting plaintiffs for medical malpractice lawsuits increased nearly 1,400 percent in four years.

Surgeon General Post Unfilled as Obama Pushes Health Care Reform and Swine Flu Concerns Grow
(CNSNews.com) – As President Barack Obama welcomes Congress back to Washington with a joint address on his health care reform agenda and federal officials advise the public on preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus, the U.S. Surgeon General post remains unfilled.

Controversy Surrounds Frontrunner in Race to Head Major U.N. Agency
(CNSNews.com) – A major United Nations agency will choose a new director-general in the coming days, and although promoting freedom of expression is among UNESCO’s key functions, the leading candidate is backed by some of the world’s most repressive governments. Farouk Hosni, who has been Egypt’s culture minister for more than two decades, has made provocative comments about the Israel.

Defiant Over Nuclear Issue, Iran Wins Sanctions-Busting Pledge From Chavez
(CNSNews.com) – As the first of a series of crucial meetings on nuclear issues began Monday, Iran’s government reiterated its defiance of the international community, saying that as far as it was concerned, the question was settled. “We will never negotiate Iran’s undeniable rights,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told reporters.

 Stanford Researchers Transform Fat Cells into Stem Cells

Sudanese Archbishop Appeals for Int’l Action in Struggle for Peace 

Iraqi Political Groups Use Dwindling Christian Community as ‘Tools’ 

Church Leaders, Climate Experts to Urge World Leaders to Focus on Poor 

‘I Hate Obama’ Pastor Draws Protesters Outside Church 

Yale under fire for removal of Muslim cartoons
Yale University has removed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad from an upcoming book about how they caused outrage across the Muslim world, drawing criticism from prominent alumni and a national group of university professors. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL

Independents dissatisfied with Obama
A political analyst says President Obama’s support is eroding among a group of voters that was pivotal to his election in 2008 — independents.

Perspective: Listening to a liar
If people think that the words Barack Obama says are what matters, they can be led into something much worse than being swindled out of their money.

Perspective: An open letter to liberals
I’ve often thought of writing an open letter to those who assume my views are repugnant because of the conservative label. So guess what?

Studios now see value in family-friendly films
Noted entertainment critic Ted Baehr says Christians are making a difference when it comes to the availability of family-friendly movies.

Obama Pitched Health Care Reform to Students in Meeting Prior to His Speech on Education
(CNSNews.com) – Although President Barack Obama avoided controversial topics in his nationally broadcast speech to students on Tuesday, he did promote health care reform in a face-to-face discussion with ninth graders at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va.

Hoyer: Media ‘Misrepresented’ Town Hall Protests
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says the national news media, particularly television networks, “misrepresented” the extent of opposition to health care reform voiced at various town hall meeting in August. By focusing on the rowdy few, the television cameras prevented the public from seeing the majority of people who are either open to reform or support health care reform, Hoyer said.

Obama Promises to Give Us ‘A Much More Detailed’ Health Care Plan Wednesday Night
(CNSNews.com) – In a nationally televised speech Wednesday night, President Barack Obama will explain to the American people “what I think is the best way to move forward” on health care reform. According to his press secretary Robert Gibbs, Obama “will discuss pretty robustly the public option tonight.”

Many of Obama’s Claims about Health-Care Reform Have Been Debunked
(CNSNews.com) – While President Obama tells a joint session of Congress what he wants and is willing to accept in a health care reform bill Wednesday night, he may also repeat some of the points he has made over the past few months that have been refuted by non-partisan sources. The president, for example, has said health-care reform will be deficit neutral and will not steer tax dollars to abortions. He also says there are 46 million uninsured Americans. But each of these claims has been disputed by non-partisan sources.

U.S. Government Paid 15-Year-Olds to Answer Graphic Questions About Their Sex Lives
(CNSNews.com) – From March 2002 to March 2003, the federal government paid more than a thousand 15- to 17-year-olds $40 each to answer questions about their sex lives, including intimate questions about specific sexual acts, whether they had ever engaged in homosexual acts, whether they had used contraception, and what sorts of discussions they had had with their parents about sex.

Lieberman: U.S. Needs to Be Prepared for Biological Attack
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, says the U.S. is in no better position today than it was in December 2008, when a government commission warned that Americans were not safe from an attack with biological weapons — and that a terrorist attack involving a WMD was likely to occur somewhere in the world by 2013.

Test-Ban Treaty Advocates See ‘Window of Opportunity’ Opened by Obama
(CNSNews.com) – Proponents of a global ban on nuclear weapons testing are optimistic that President Obama’s support for ratifying the pact will encourage other holdouts to follow suit, speeding up its entry into force. But the prospect of a U.S. shift is causing unease in India, and there is no sign that either Iran or North Korea is willing to embrace the test-ban agreement.

Dems’ healthcare ‘compromises’ mislead public
A healthcare policy expert says both the “trigger” and non-profit cooperative proposals being pushed by Democrats resemble the “camel’s nose under the tent” of government-run healthcare. POLL: What advice would YOU give Congress? VOTE

Perspective: A self-serving healthcare savior
Tom Daschle evaded IRS rules for years – yet he remains a top White House confidante and policy strategist who’s now leading the drive to save Obamacare.

Federal probe should include Planned Parenthood
Prominent pro-life leader Alveda King has some advice for the Justice Department in a probe of racism.

Taxpayers footing legal bills for former Fannie execs
Many U.S. taxpayers are unaware that they are now paying for the legal bills of three top former executives for government-run mortgage firm Fannie Mae.

Parenting: Damage control for teens of divorce
Divorce piles on emotional problems for a teen a little higher than there would normally be for an already emotional adolescent.

1.2 Million Sign Anti-Health Care Bill Petition to Congress

1,200 African Church Leaders Attend Billion Soul Summit in Uganda 

Church Leaders Abuzz About Virtual Conference 

Businesswoman to Church: Financial Crisis Golden Opportunity for Economic Justice 

Christians in Pakistan Fear Further Firestorms 

Obama heckled by GOP during speech: ‘You lie!’
The nastiness of August reached from the nation’s town halls into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as President Barack Obama tried to move his healthcare plan forward.

‘Anti-American counterculturists’ found among Obama’s czars
Iowa Congressman Steve King says he’s pleased that President Barack Obama’s so-called “green jobs” czar has resigned — but it’s just a start, he adds.

Perspective: Media bite into ‘vetting’ apple
The media basically ignored the growing controversy over Van Jones’ communist background as it built over the past couple of weeks.

Religious song banned from graduation
The Rutherford Institute is taking another school free-speech case to the Supreme Court.

Persistent prayer reaps rewards
A well-known pastor and author says desperation, prayer, and persistence will lead to true revival.

 Obama Won’t Give Federal Insurance Benefits to Illegal Aliens; He’ll Make Them Legal First
(CNSNews.com) – In his speech to a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama said that his health care reform plan will not insure “illegal immigrants.” It is true that both the House and Senate health care bills as they are now drafted would make illegal aliens ineligible for federally funded health care. But President Obama has stated as recently as last month at a press conference in Mexico that he will seek “comprehensive immigration reform” legislation that will put illegal aliens on a “pathway to citizenship.”

Democrats’ Health Care Bills Do Not Require Citizenship Verification
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Joe Wilson’s shout-out Wednesday night came in response to President Obama’s claim that illegal immigrants would not be covered by the Democrats’ health care plan. “You lie!” Wilson (R-S.C.) yelled. Republicans, in a post-speech “fact-check,” suggested that Obama is making a promise the legislation does not keep.

Health Experts Call Obesity A Threat to National Security
(CNSNews.com) – Health care experts, including two former U.S. surgeons general, said on Wednesday said that obesity has reached epidemic proportions and is a threat to security in the United States and abroad. It also affects the future of health care, said Richard Carmona, who served as surgeon general in the Bush administration.

Republicans: Why Wait? Tackle the Biggest Health Care Problems Right Now
(CNSNews.com) – In the Republican response to President Barack Obama, Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana offered what he called a faster, more affordable way to bring about the health care reform. Boustany said Congress should scrap the Democrat-authored bills currently under consideration – particularly the call for a public option — and start over with a “targeted approach that tackles the biggest problems.” He outlined four areas where “we can agree, right now.”

Obama Adviser Hopes Catholic Bishops Will Find A Way to Support Democrats’ Health Care Reform Legislation, Despite Abortion Concerns
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) – A top adviser to President Barack Obama told CNSNews.com the White House hopes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will come to understand that the Democrats’ health care reform legislation does not cover abortion. “This should not be turned into a debate about abortion,” David Axelrod said.

White House Won’t Rule Out ‘Reconciliation’ Maneuver to Pass Health Care Reform Bill
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama is still hoping for a bipartisan health care reform bill, White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod said, and he will support whatever it takes to get a health care package through Congress.

Congressional Report Questions Legality of GM and Chrysler Bailouts
(CNSNews.com) – A report issued by the Congressional Oversight Panel tasked with overseeing the implementation of the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) questions whether the Bush and Obama administrations had the legal authority to use TARP funds to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. The report, issued Wednesday, confirmed what CNSNews.com had previously reported: that the law which created TARP–the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act–did not grant the government specific authority to use taxpayers’ funds to rescue the auto industry.

Organizers Predict Thousands of Tea Party Activists Will Attend Saturday’s March on Washington
(CNSNews.com) – Thousands of angry taxpayers are expected to come to the nation’s capital on Saturday, Sept. 12, to march on the National Mall. These are many of the same Americans who staged “tea parties” this Spring to protest the $700 billion mortgage bailout and passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill — and the same people who turned out in droves over the August congressional break at town hall meetings around the country to express their outrage over a proposed trillion dollar health-care “reform.”

Deepening Venezuela-Iran Alliance Stokes Concern
(CNSNews.com) – The United States watches closely and follows links between Iran and Venezuela “very seriously,” the State Department said in response to fresh claims of a deepening collaboration between the two governments hostile to the U.S. Spokesman Ian Kelly said allegations made by veteran Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau this week – that Iran and Venezuela were “creating a cozy financial, political, and military partnership” — were serious and would be looked into.

U.S. Envoy Warns Iran Is Almost Capable of Building Atomic Bomb
(CNSNews.com) – With a deadline to cooperate or face tougher sanctions fast approaching, Iran has presented a new “proposal” relating to its nuclear program to a group of leading governments. Iran’s response came on the same day that a U.S. envoy told the United Nations nuclear watchdog that Iran was nearing “breakout” capability – the point at which it could, if it took the decision to do so, build an atomic bomb.

 Obama: Now is Time to Deliver on Health Care 

American Congregations Show Some Signs of Vitality 

ADF Receives $9.2M to Defend Free Speech at Universities 

Ky. Church to Ordain Registered Sex Offender 

Court Rejects Disgraced Baptist Leader’s Bid to Stop Election 

 
Eight Years After Terror Attacks, Threat Remains Real and Evolving
(CNSNews.com) – Despite counter-terrorism successes and the absence of a major and dramatic attack in the West, the security threat posed by radical Islamists remains real and dynamic, as al-Qaeda mutates into an increasingly unstructured but no less dangerous entity, according to experts monitoring the organization.

Support for Suicide Bombings and Bin Laden Still High Among Some Muslims
(CNSNews.com) – A new survey gauging Muslim attitudes indicates that backing for suicide bombings against civilians, while generally down from earlier years, remains significant in some Islamic countries – challenging the assertion that Muslims supporting terrorism constitute a “tiny minority.”

Obama’s Speech Prompts Ten Questions from Republicans
(CNSNews.com) – House Republicans on Thursday issued ten “common-sense” questions arising from President Barack Obama’s Wednesday-night speech plugging health care reform. The questions – and the words that prompted them – appear here verbatim…

Pro-Life Congressmen and Planned Parenthood Agree: Health Care Bill Funds Abortion
(CNSNews.com) – In his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama said the health care plan he is pushing will not provide federal money for abortions. But pro-life congressmen and Planned Parenthood agree that abortion would be covered under the plan under an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps (D.-Calif.).

Pelosi: We’ll ‘Squeeze’ Medicare to Pay for Health Care Bill
(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said today that Congress will pay for half of the $1 trillion health care reform bill that President Obama wants enacted by “squeezing” Medicare and Medicaid to wring out what she called “waste, fraud, abuse, redundancy, obsolescence and whatever it is.”

Conservative Pollster Defends CNN Poll on Audience Perception of Obama’s Speech
(CNSNews.com) – Conservative pollster Kellyanne Conway Thursday defended the integrity of CNN’s Wednesday night poll of those who watched President Obama’s speech to Congress on health-care reform. On Thursday, some conservatives in Washington were buzzing about the poll’s sample – and questioning whether it might have been partisan or slanted, since only 18 percent of respondents “identified themselves as Republicans.”

Despite Recession and Rising Unemployment, Rate of Uninsured Did Not Increase, Says Census Bureau Data
(CNSNews.com) – Even though the nation was in a recession and unemployment rates were rising, the percentage of people lacking health insurance in the United States did not increase during 2008, according to data released today by the Census Bureau. There was also a slight movement of people from private insurance into government insurance — including seniors moving into Medicare.

Obama speech ‘a litany of lies’
The Media Research Center is demanding that the media reports President Obama’s “lies, distortions, and exaggerations” delivered in his speech on healthcare reform Wednesday night.

9-11 widow still finding hope, healing
Author Jennifer Sands has a special reason to remember the September 11 terrorist attack in 2001.

Perspective: How Obama cronyism threatens rail security
Why has President Obama neutered the nation’s most highly trained post-Sept. 11 counterterrorism rail security team?

Yale ripped for kowtowing to Islamic extremism
Gary Bauer and John Bolton both agree with recent criticism of Yale University for publishing a book about how cartoons of the prophet Muhammad caused outrage across the Muslim world — without including the actual cartoons themselves.

ObamaCare circumvents confession of abortion funding
Three pro-life leaders are voicing concern over President Obama’s healthcare plan. They believe President Obama may not be telling the truth about taxpayer-funded abortion as it pertains to his healthcare reform plan.

Pro-Life Leaders: Obama Still Misleading Americans on Abortion Funding 

Survey Reveals Prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct 

Pakistani Bishop: Muslim-Christian Tension Unlikely to be Resolved Soon 

Relief Groups Sound Alarm as Kenya Faces Drought, Hunger Crisis 

Orissa Christians are ‘Prisoners’ in India, Says Ministry