The Truth Behind the Obama-Khalidi-McCain Triangle
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Obama befriended Rashid Khalidi who, despite the weak-minded and poorly argued persistence of Kirsten Powers on Fox & Friends this A.M., is a terrorist. According to Mona Charen @ NRO:
Khalidi was a spokesman for the PLO in the 1970s, when the organization was officially designated as a "Terrorist" group.
and,
"Khalidi, who has called Israel an “apartheid” state and who defends the right of Palestinians to use violence against Israel, founded a group called the Arab American Action Network."
What has been printed about the infamous 2003 dinner party are Obama's remarks about the close relationship his family had with the Khalidis, and how that friendship impacted the way he thought about, shall we say, foreign relations:
A special tribute came from Khalidi’s friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi’s wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking. ...His many talks with the Khalidis, Obama said, had been “consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases. . . . It’s for that reason that I’m hoping that, for many years to come, we continue that conversation — a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid’s dinner table,” but around “this entire world.”
Perhaps that is why Obama was one of 22 Senators who voted AGAINST a 2007 Resolution declaring Iran's Revolutionary Guards a terrorist force.
Perhaps that is why Obama declared he would meet Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad WITHOUT preconditions.
Perhaps that is why, less than 24 hours after declaring support for Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem at this year's AIPAC conference, Obama told CNN that Jerusalem was up for negotiation.
Doug Ross @ Journal reports, according to a reliable source: Saw a clip from the [2003 dinner/LA Times] tape. Reason we can’t release it is because statements Obama said to rile audience up during toast. He congratulates Khalidi for his work saying “Israel has no God-given right to occupy Palestine” plus there’s been “genocide against the Palestinian people by Israelis.” [Hat Tip: Israpundit]
More than just words over the dinner table have passed between Obama and Khalidi. According to the same NRO article:
"When Obama served as a director of the Woods Fund in 2001 and 2002, the foundation donated $75,000 to the AAAN, for projects like an “oral history” project on the “Nakbah,” which translates as “catastrophe,” and is the name Palestinians use for the birth of Israel."
and,
"Khalidi held a fundraiser for Obama when the latter ran for Congress in 2000..."
Obama does not deny any of this took place. His campaign's only rebuttle to the incriminating videotape is that John McCain chaired the board of the International Republican Institute, one of four organizations created by the National Endowment for Democracy, with the purpose of assist in establishing and building democratic governments across the globe, when the group granted funds to Khalidi's "Center for Palestine Research and Studies". According to the Chicago Tribune:
During the 1990s, while McCain served as chairman of the International Republican Institute, the group distributed several grants to the Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi, including a $448,873 grant in 1998 to his Center for Palestine Research and Studies for work in the West Bank.And, since 1993, when McCain joined IRI as chairman, the group funded several studies run by Khalidi's group in the Palestinian territories, including more than 30 public opinion polls. Khalidi helped found the center, "an independent academic research and policy analysis institution."
The Center for Palestine Research and Studies has no official website, but comes under the heading of CIPE- The Center for International Private Enterprise, a sister-institution to the IRI. According to the CIPE website:
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) strengthens democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform. CIPE is one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy and a non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since 1983, CIPE has worked with business leaders, policymakers, and journalists to build the civic institutions vital to a democratic society.
So, let me get this straight:
Obama is trying to compare his close friendship with Rashid Khalidi, replete with family dinners, honorary speeches, and monitary exchanges, to McCain having sat on the Board of an Institution created to promote Democracy that granted monies to a man who claimed to be promoting Democracy among a people enslaved, and then distributed said monies to that man's organization through a sister-institution?
Obama used the Woods Fund to grant monies to a Khalidi project that was openly and pointedly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.
McCain was one of many board members to grant monies to a Khalidi project that claimed to desire the promotion of a democratic attitude among the Palestinian people.
Obama knew Khalidi's anti-Israel philosophy because they talked about it over dinner.
Has McCain ever shared so much as a Tic-Tac with Khalidi?
The only thing McCain and his fellow board members are guilty of is believing that a Palestinian wanted to better the lives of his own people. We've learned a lot since the 1990s, and we've learned a lot more in the past week about those who befriend Khalidi and terrorists like him.
Kirsten Powers tried to defend Obama's relationship with Khalidi with the argument that you can be friends with someone and still have differing points of view. The question that immediately came to my mind was this: Has Kirsten Powers ever been told she's not good enough to walk this planet? Has she ever had a friend threaten to wipe her family "into the sea" and then laughed about it and invited them to join her for dinner next Tuesday night? Probably not.
So many pundits are already commenting on the momentous nature of this election. Perhaps it is because Americans-- real Americans who value their freedoms and their identities-- are learning who their true friends really are.
Friends Don't let Friends Vote Obama.
Cross-posted at The Jewish Cowgirl
Labels: election, McCain, Obama, Rashid Khalidi
posted by Shoshana @ 10:54 AM
URGENT: A Night of Prayer & Fasting for America
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Tonight begins the Jewish fast of Yom Kippur. We gather together as a community to ask G-d for His mercy in forgiving our sins and blessing us with another year of life. Quick Biblical reference is Leviticus 23.
This year, Yom Kippur isn't just a Jewish thing.
Our nation is in serious need of G-d's mercy. We've got a "friend to the terrorists" running for President of the United States. Nothing is more serious than the possibility of a Hussein in the White House.
That's why I'm asking everyone who reads this blog--Jewish or not--to participate in a night of prayer and fasting for America. Since Yom Kippur starts at sundown, it can be as simple as skipping your nightly snack and humbling yourself for a few minutes before G-d in honest prayer.
Our nation is at stake. Can we do at least that much to help?
Pass it along to your friends, your family, your Pastors, and your Rabbis: tonight is a night to get serious before the Almighty and pray for this nation, to sacrifice a meal so we don't have to sacrifice our lives to the threat of a socialized government and anti-American ideologies both here and abroad receiving carte blanche from the highest office in the land.
Tonight. Sundown. Skip the snack and pray:
May G-d Bless America.
Cross-posted at The Jewish Cowgirl
Labels: America, American elections, Biden, McCain, Obama, Sarah Palin, Yom Kippur
posted by Shoshana @ 8:40 AM
Why I Like Sarah Palin:
Thursday, September 04, 2008
[Ed. Note: I know, I know, this is supposed to be a blog that focuses on the Messianic movement and subsequent veins thereof; since we live in a world in which "we are all links in a chain" as my mother would say, political commentary matters-- especially to believers, and especially to Jewish people. So, I'm getting political; so should the yeshiva-boys. (Like they already don't in their own way....)]
I'm sitting here listening to Chris Thile's album Not All Who Wander Are Lost which is *the* perfect soundtrack to accompany a discussion about the Republican Veep nom, because the bluegrass tunes, much like the hockey mom-turned-Governor, are so inherently American. As much as I hesitate to admit it sometimes, there is something so freaking beautiful about the soul of this country. According to the democrats, because I am a white, middle class, Jewish female in a certain age bracket, with a certain level of education under her belt, who lives in a certain area of the country, I am supposed to be a cynical, self-loathing, nation-hating anti-patriot bent on self-destruction through the socialization of my federal government. But, you know what? I can't be. I like this place too much.
There are a lot of perspectives I could take on Sarah Palin.
I could write as a woman about how great it is to see another woman get nominated for V.P., but honestly, in the world of feminist tripe, how shallow of a comment is that?
I could write as a Jew and get antsy about her Evangelical background and attendance at a church where David Brickner from Jews for Jesus was invited to speak, but honestly, I find her faith more helpful than harmful. After all, it isn't like the woman or her pastor are strapping explosive vests onto their kids and sending them into crowds of Jews; her son is going into the Army to beat Al-Quaida, not crash himself into a national landmark.
Heck, I could even write within my democrat-approved demographic and say that because of my age, my gender, my education, my geographical region, and my ethnic makeup that I think Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton, which is true. Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton-- which is why I would vote for her in a heartbeat.
But, I think I'm going to write this one out as a working class, Wal Mart-shopping, cowboy-boots wearing, ponytail-bearing, once-and-therefore-always-Texan, history-loving American with hardcore flag-waving roots. So, let me begin by saying: I like Sarah Palin because she's an American, just like me. She's a wife and mother with normal kids and a husband who works hard. She goes to church and actually believes in the Bible she holds every Sunday, because she understands that leaders must have the attitude of servants. Yet, she's proud enough of her history to "take the bull by the horns," as my grandfather often said, and "tell it like it is." The best thing the McCain camp could have done, they did: They researched and found a politician with the right combination of government experience and down to earth American character.
Joe Biden was all over the mainstream media during this morning's news hour, scrambling with his liberal newscaster cohorts to throw half-hearted blows in Palin's direction. It is evident that they don't have a thing to go on. Sure, Sarah's delivery was great, and her one-liners about B. Hussein Obama were fantastic, but even more than that: everything she said about energy independence, fighting terrorism (and B. Hussein's willingness to negotiate), and the economy was right on the money. As Clive Crooks over at the Atlantic Monthly notes:
Well, the Democrats have a problem. They had a few days of calling her a clueless redneck, a stewardess, a nonentity, and she has hurled that back in their bleeding gums. (If I were Joe Biden, I'd start practising for October 2nd right now.) Even before tonight's speech, they had backed off the "no experience" strategy, because (as the Republicans intended) that was sending shrapnel in Obama's direction.But, here's the kicker: Most who can't beat 'em, join 'em, but Palin is forcing the hardcore liberals to draw a line in the sand. Crooks goes on to say:
Where they will have to end up is obvious: McCain-Palin is an extreme right-wing ticket. It is a team that will prosecute the culture war against all that is decent and civilized in the United States: that must be the line.Classic Marxists to the end, the liberals play the pot calling the kettle black. Suddenly, Sarah Palin, who represents the majority of American citizens (what one bleeding-heart liberal I know called "the poor farm girls of the American midwest"), is the one attacking all that is "holy and good" (and I use those terms very loosely in this context) in the eyes of liberals the nation-over. Liberals who would sooner sell us out to Iran than stick a few drills into barren Alaskan tundra. Liberals accuse the Evangelical Hockey Mom of waging a war they created and are busy fighting every day: a war against the culture and values that made this country great. Do they really think all us lipsticked pit bulls will let them get away with that?
You see, the thing about Sarah is that she resonates with a person who is tired of being let down by a system that is so overloaded, you can't half-see the pork from the bull, let alone wade through it all. Perhaps the mainstream media is having such a hard time criticizing her because she isn't this or that-- like so many of the rest of us average Americans, Sarah Palin just is, and there's not much arguing with that.
Yesterday, I couldn't have given a hoot about this election. My only concern was keeping my passport updated so I could make a quick run for it if B. Hussein got elected. Now, I'm interested. I'm interested to see if the real America I love is all it's cracked up to be. I'm interested to see the real America put up a fight-- and win.
Labels: America, American elections, culture, Liberals, McCain, Sarah Palin
posted by Shoshana @ 5:45 PM
A Cantor in the White House
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
A Jewish Vice President.
This isn't exactly a new idea to the American political landscape, and in the election year of female and black-muslim candidates, a Jewish guy is bound to make the bottom of the "Most Controversial Candidates" list. The idea of a Jewish Vice President of the United States, however, is a topic worthy of some serious discussion.
I could boil my punditry down to some rather stereotypical blanket comments about Americans not voting for Jews, and Jewish Americans being paranoid about having a member of the Tribe in such a seemingly "high powered" government post, (so high powered, in fact, that John Adams, the first Vice President, spent the majority of his tenure developing a sore tuchus and staving off levels of mental boredom known best to those working in corporate offices 9 to 5) but I won't, because I don't think it is my job to reinforce already common thought patterns and the personal opinions of others that too often tend to be taken as fact. The mere idea of a Jewish American VP candidate is worth more than a simple toss-off of, "No Bible-belter will vote for a Jew," or "If he gets into office, they really will think we run the world." Take the idea seriously for a moment: A Jewish Vice President. And a Republican to boot. What would that mean? What kind of statement would that make about the psyche of our nation?
As the sampler says, "actions speak louder than words." I could quote Cantor non-stop and still be wrong about him when all is said and done because, like any other politician, he could just renege on every word his speechwriter penned. I can, however, remark on the fact that he spoke at a One Jerusalem event in Israel, during which he quoted Ben Gurion in Hebrew. A Jewish American Congressman attending a conference promoting the unification of Jerusalem as a Jewish capital. A Jewish American Congressman speaking Hebrew in public. Is this guy totally unique, or has the Jewish American psyche has come a long way, baby? Jewish American voters will decide that one, should Cantor get the nod, that is.
But what will gentile American voters think of a Jewish American-Jew? Is it finally okay to not be Jerry Seinfeld? Can Jews drop the hyphen and bring their faith out of the closet without being held under suspicion? Perhaps Cantor's VP nod will shed new light on exactly how suspicious gentile Americans are of their Jewish counterparts-- and vice-versa. If the McCain-Cantor ticket wins, will the victory make Jewish Americans think twice about how they are viewed by their gentile neighbors?
Or will it just give the muslims another excuse to blow us all up?
If McCain pulls Cantor for VP, you'll have a race that pits a flag-waving Vietnam Vet and a religious Jew against a black muslim with fundamentalist roots and (possibly-- any news on Hillary yet?) a 60s hippie with a communist agenda. The ideological battle of the past 40 years will rise to the surface. Lines will be drawn in the sand. It will literally be the most clear-cut election this nation has ever witnessed: Capitalism vs. Communism; Democracy vs. Socialism; Judeo-Christianity vs. Islamic Atheism. Can we boil it down any further? After this November, I doubt there will be any more water in the pot.
That is, if Cantor gets nominated.
However, if things stay as they are, which, by the nomination-to-be of Barack, we already know things are far from status-quo, then we are bound to be plastered into even thicker layers of ridiculousness and confusion. If Cantor were nominated, the results of the ensuing election would make clear who we want to be and where we want to go as a nation. Could the American voter handle that much responsibility? Or would it just be easier for them (and McCain) if the Republicans picked yet another gentile Joe-Schmo running mate?
Perhaps its really a question of what demons we want to face. The Jewish people are called out to be a light. Cantor's nomination would shed a light--and possibly a lot of it--on the ideas behind the idealogues and the values that are really at stake in this election. As it is, the mere idea of his candidacy is already forcing many conservatives and Republicans to question how much longer they want to remain hiding in the dark.
Eric Cantor for VP: A Conservative Grassroots Movement
Labels: Eric Cantor, Jewish, McCain, Presidential Election
posted by Shoshana @ 7:19 PM
