The Republican party must stop "shouting at the world" and start listening to minority groups if it is to win elections in the 21st century, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday.  (   Powell: GOP ‘polarization’ backfired in election  )

In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria for Sunday's "GPS" program, President Bush's former secretary of state said his party's attempt "to use polarization for political advantage" backfired last month.

"I think the party has to take a hard look at itself," Powell said in the interview, which was taped Wednesday. "There is nothing wrong with being conservative. There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views — I don't object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities. In another 20 years, the majority in this country will be the minority."

 

"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?" Powell asked. "Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

(No the reason the GOP lost last month was they didn't focus in on the social issues. It didn't let Gov. Palin express herself or her views. The GOP does need new leadership in which it will reach out to people but stay committed to her core values. How about  people like Rev. Wright, and Bill Airs. Will the Democrats keep letting these guys speak for them? )

Three Nebraskans attended a government ethics conference this week in Chicago, where a let­ter of welcome encouraged par­ticipants to “promote integrity throughout the world.”
e letter was from none other than Gov. Rod Blagojevich — who commended attendees for their efforts on behalf of govern­ment ethics and urged them to make their meeting memorable.
  Oh, they won’t forget it.

(The above was from a column in my local paper. The column was written by Michael Kelly. More of what Kelly wrote is below.)

In the hotel hallways at the conference, attended by about 400 from the United States and Canada, word of the Illinois governor’s arrest caused no small amount of snick­ering.
  “These people not only snick­ered,” said Steve McCollister. “They were pretty ap­palled.”

 

(We all should be appalled by this. I guess  Gov. Rod Blagojevich thinks we should do what he says to do,not what he does.)

 Grumpy golfer John Daly took out his frustration after a bad round by smashing a spectator's camera against a tree.

The controversial American, who has battled alcohol and gambling addictions, is now in danger of missing the cut after a six-over round of 78.
Daly grabbed Brad Clegg's camera after hitting his tee shot on the ninth and final hole into a clump of trees.

"I was looking to take a drop and the camera was six inches away from my face," Daly said in a statement afterwards.

Clegg said he was stunned by the incident and did not believe he had provoked Daly, the 1991 PGA and 1995 Open champion.

"It was very unexpected. I was bold but I wasn't unreasonable," he said.

( I don't for one second want to encourage anyone to take the law into their own hands.  I also wasn't  near this event but still fans and those in the media  at times need to take a step back when trying to film well known people. Read  more on this story right here.)

 

In an unprecedented move, the Illinois attorney general filed a motion with the state's highest court Friday asking justices to strip scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich of his powers.  (  Illinois AG asks high court to declare gov. unfit  )

 Lisa Madigan took the action as pressure on the governor intensified to step down and lawmakers considered impeachment.

"I recognize that this is an extraordinary request, but these are extraordinary circumstances," Madigan said at a news conference.

(As I posted in a posting yesterday this man should be removed from office and have the full force of the law brought down on him. Of course this could all be passed if  Gov. Blagojevich will do the right thing and step down. It is all in Gov. Blagojevich's hands.)

 "Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side,

(The above was in an article from Newsweek  written by Lisa Miller.  It was in the December 15, 2008 issue.Read more below.)

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?

The battle over gay marriage has been waged for more than a decade, but within the last six months—since California legalized gay marriage and then, with a ballot initiative in November, amended its Constitution to prohibit it—the debate has grown into a full-scale war, with religious-rhetoric slinging to match. Not since 1860, when the country's pulpits were full of preachers pronouncing on slavery, pro and con, has one of our basic social (and economic) institutions been so subject to biblical scrutiny. But whereas in the Civil War the traditionalists had their James Henley Thornwell—and the advocates for change, their Henry Ward Beecher—this time the sides are unevenly matched. All the religious rhetoric, it seems, has been on the side of the gay-marriage opponents, who use Scripture as the foundation for their objections.

The argument goes something like this statement, which the Rev. Richard A. Hunter, a United Methodist minister, gave to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June: "The Bible and Jesus define marriage as between one man and one woman. The church cannot condone or bless same-sex marriages because this stands in opposition to Scripture and our tradition."

In the Christian story, the message of acceptance for all is codified. Jesus reaches out to everyone, especially those on the margins, and brings the whole Christian community into his embrace. The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, cites the story of Jesus revealing himself to the woman at the well— no matter that she had five former husbands and a current boyfriend—as evidence of Christ's all-encompassing love. The great Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann, emeritus professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, quotes the apostle Paul when he looks for biblical support of gay marriage: "There is neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ." The religious argument for gay marriage, he adds, "is not generally made with reference to particular texts, but with the general conviction that the Bible is bent toward inclusiveness."

( Lisa Miller   does not put one verse in the above article from the Bible that says God will bless same sex marriage. Far as the lady at the well yes Jesus did love her and  He loves everyone in the world. Yes He does love gay people but He calls all people including those struggling in the gay life to leave their life of sin. In John chapter 8 the lady at the well  in verse 11 Jesus says leave your life of sin. There also many verses in the Bible which the Lord says the gay life is sin. Far as only picking parts of the  Bible out.Read this 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitab. If you want read the story from Newsweek click on this  Gay Marriage: Our Mutual Joy but I would not waste too much time reading it.)

Top evangelical resigns after backing gay unions

Frank Schaeffer is Pro Life and wants to Keep Abortion Lawful

Rev. Wright gets his history wrong

Illinois Gov. defying calls for his resignation

Obama calls on governor in Senate seat scandal to quit

An outspoken and polarizing voice in conservative Christian politics resigned effective Thursday from the National Association of Evangelicals after a radio interview in which he voiced support for same-sex civil unions and said he is "shifting" on gay marriage.

The Rev. Richard Cizik's comments _ made on a Dec. 2 "Fresh Air" broadcast on National Public Radio _ triggered an uproar that led to his stepping down as NAE vice president of governmental affairs.

The Rev. Leith Anderson, a Minneapolis-area pastor who serves as NAE president, said Thursday the group is not backing away from its environmental stances. Cizik's resignation was necessary, he said, because some of his answers in the radio interview did not reflect NAE values and convictions.

Anderson said a "combination of things" Cizik said in the interview led to his downfall, including this comment on gay marriage: "I'm shifting, I have to admit. In other words, I would willingly say I believe in civil unions. I don't officially support redefining marriage from its traditional definition, I don't think."

Coming off the passage last month of amendments barring gay marriage in three states, some evangelicals took that as a slap in the face, said David Neff, editor of Christianity Today magazine and a member of the NAE executive committee.

(It is good that this man was forced to step down. The NAE is run and supported by those who follow the Bible.  The Bible says  the gay life is sinful. There are a number of issues that followers of Christ may not agree on such as taxes, capital punishment, etc. However same sex marriage is not an issue  where there is room for those who believe the Bible is God's word to disagree. Read more on this story Top evangelical resigns after backing gay unions.)

 Frank Schaeffer's parents, Francis and Edith, were best-selling authors who were instrumental in linking the evangelical community with the anti-abortion movement.  (  Pro-Life — And In Favor Of Keeping Abortion Legal : )

But after coming of age as an evangelist and helping to organize religious fundamentalists politically, Schaeffer had a crisis of faith: Though he is pro-life, he decided that abortion should remain legal.

Shortly after the presidential election, Schaeffer wrote an open letter on the Huffington Post explaining his views and urging President-elect Barack Obama to support programs that provide care for pregnant women and reduce the number of abortions.

(It looks like Frank keeps going down the wrong road. How can one believe abortion is wrong but still  want it to remain legal. Pray that Frank will come back to the faith of his father and take that faith every place he goes in life.)

 For the first time since his retirement last spring, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. returned to the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ this morning with two goals: glorifying God and vilifying the media.

 

"Jesus said upon this rock I will build--listen to the promise--my church," he said. "And the gates of Hell--listen to the promise--the gates of Hell--neither ABC nor CNN--the gates of Hell--neither Hannity nor O'Reilly--the gates of Hell--neither Time, Time magazine, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune ... the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. Nothing will be impossible with God."

At the 11 a.m. service, Wright belittled "baby milk believers," who, he said, suffer a delusion that politics don't belong in the pulpit. He pointed out that "Luke the evangelist, not Wright the radical" lambasted the oppressive policies of the Roman government in the Gospel story that recounts Jesus' life.

"Any preacher who dares to point out the simple ugly facts found in every field imaginable is demonized as volatile, controversial, incendiary, inflammatory, anti-American and radical," Wright said, taking time out to note the thousands of Japanese civilians who died 67 years to the day when American warplane dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. (Actually, Dec. 7 marks the day when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.)

 

(It looks like Wright  knows as little about history as he knows the Bible. The sad thing is people sit under him and amen what he says. Those souls need to spend time reading a good history book along with studying the Bible. The Bible says to test all things including what comes out of the mouth of a Pastor. Read more on this issue Wright visits Trinity pulpit, lashes media.)

 With Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich defying calls for his resignation, state officials pondered reducing his power or forcing him from office amid an intensifying criminal investigation that has made him arguably the most toxic politician in America.  (  Illinois leaders ponder what to do with governor )

Legislative leaders in the state capital moved forward Wednesday with several fronts to deal with Blagojevich, who returned to his office in downtown Chicago a day after he was arrested on charges that he put President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat up for sale.

 

(This man needs to go. If I was from his state I would be embarrassed regardless what party I belonged too. This man needs to be removed from office ASAP and the full weight of the law should be brought down on him.)

 The governor accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's seat in the Senate faced growing pressure to resign yesterday as the president-elect called on him to step aside. ( Obama calls on governor in Senate seat scandal to quit         )

The call from Obama came as Rod Blagojevich turned up for work as usual 24 hours after the FBI arrested him at his home and accused him of setting a new low in corruption for his haggling over the price of a Senate seat.

 

(Good for Obama. However there are still questions that our next President needs to answer like had he talked to the governor about who should replace him. I also agree with others like Cal Thomas  mp3 and  some leaders in IL. who says now there should be an election to decide who the next Sen. from that state is. This doesn't look pretty and I won't be shocked if it gets worse as more information comes out.)