Week Ending May 9, 2008 - Washington, DC

Obama speaks at Israel 60th anniversary event / Cheney, Obama and Lieberman credit President Harry Truman on Israel / Teamsters boss at Israel event / Goodbye Hillary? / Bush still punishing those who pay ransom for loved ones / Weeding out the unborn / Military Decency Act / Ten Commandments on the Hill

THE PRESIDENT

OBAMA AND THE JEWS- On May 8th I attended a Washington, DC celebration for the 60 anniversary of the founding of modern Israel. The announced speakers were Vice President Cheney and Senator Lieberman (I-CT). I was a little surprised when early in the program Senator Barack Obama appeared on stage to credit President Truman for his recognition of Israel's independence. During his remarks he said that American would always be a friend and defender of Israel. What I found odd about this was the anti-Semitic nature of the church Senator Obama was a member of for two decades. At the end of his remarks he came off stage and waded into the crowd. When he got to me he shook my hand and thanked me for my support. It was obviously a case of mistaken identity.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION STILL PUNISHES THOSE WHO PAY RANSOM - Several weeks ago I reported that Iraqi Christian families have been refused admission to the United States because they "aided terrorists" by paying ransom to get their kidnapped loved ones back. These families have actually been added to terrorist lists by our government. Despite my repeated calls and e-mails to the White House and State Department there has been no explanation for this rather bizarre rule. Click here for story by Ken Timmerman.

GOODBYE HILLARY? - Virtually all the pundits now declare that the Democrats have their nominee and it is time for Hillary Clinton to step aside for Barack Obama. One voice calling for her to withdraw is that of Senator Ted Kennedy. Yet, when he ran for president in 1980 he refused to step aside even though he was 500 delegate votes behind Gov. Jimmy Carter. He carried his campaign to the floor of the convention. Senator Obama says he will have the delegates needed by May 20th to tell Hillary bye bye.

THE CONGRESS

TEN COMMANDMENTS ON THE HILL - On May 8th I participated in a press conference on the steps of the Supreme Court supporting Ten Commandment resolutions with Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director, Christian Defense Coalition and Rev. Rob Schenck, president, of Faith and Action. Those present showed support for Ten Commandments resolutions filed by Senator Brownback (R-KS) in the Senate and Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) in the House. Both resolutions stating that the Ten Commandments are the "cornerstone" of Western law are being blocked by the Democrat leadership of the House and Senate. (At left Murray speaks at press conference.)

WEEDING OUT THE UNBORN - U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) authored the an adverse prognosis opt for abortion because they are not given other choices.

Senator Brownback said. "The effect of this sort of 'weeding out' is creating new eugenics, a form of systematic, disability-based discrimination. Once you go down the path of valuing some lives more than others, of saying that people with disabilities don't have the same dignity and right to live as others, there are very few means that don't justify the so-called 'worthy end' of a disability-free society."

MILITARY HONOR AND DECENCY - The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 stated, in part, that "The Secretary of Defense may not permit the sale or rental of sexually explicit material on property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense." However, broad definitions in the statute have created a loophole which allows publications such as Playboy, Penthouse, and similar material to be sold at military exchange stores. Congressman Paul Broun (R-GA) has introduced the Military Honor and Decency Act, (HR- 5821) to close the loophole and stop all sales of pornographic material on military bases.

RELIGION AND SOCIETY

NO ISLAMIC TERRORISM? - Official US documents are being circulated advising federal agencies not to use the terms "Islamic" or "Muslim" in the same sentence as al Qaeda or the words terror or terrorist. The NCTC (National Counter Terrorism Center) says to "avoid calling anything Muslim." Not even the word "jihad" is to be used. The NCTC claims that using these terms causes Muslims to believe we are against them. I bet there is no ban on using the word "Christian" in the same sentence with the word "terrorist." I have sent a query to the NCTC to find out if the words "goofy" and "bureaucrat" in the same sentence is also forbidden. See UPI story

NEW APRIL CHAIRMAN'S REPORTS AVAILABLE - The April, 2008 Chairman's Report from William J. Murray is now available online in PDF version. The Chairman's Report contains some material not seen in these updates. Click here to view.

INTERNATIONAL

MODERN ISRAEL TURNS 60 - I would rather not admit it, but the modern nation of Israel is two years younger than me. I was two years old when David Ben Gurion delivered Israel's declaration of independence. Just 11 minutes later President Harry Truman, despite his own State Department being against him, gave US recognition of the new nation thus assuring its legitimacy. Events were held all over the world in celebration. At the Washington, DC event both liberals and conservatives attended. One of those in attendance was Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., who has done a pretty good job of stemming corruption and cleaning up the union's image. I talked to Mr. Hoffa for sometime and learned of his future plans for a lengthy visit to the Holy Land with his family. Support for Israel is wide spread in our nation and crosses all types of political boundaries. It is unfortunate that most of America's big corporations refuse to do business in Israel because they view Muslim nations as more profitable for them.

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