CHAPLAIN WON’T USE JESUS’ NAME IN HOUSE PRAYERS

Chaplain Won’t Use Jesus’ Name in House Prayers

By Jerry A. Kane

The Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, 60th Chaplain of the House of Representatives, is the second Catholic priest and the first Jesuit priest to hold that position.

So far this session, Conroy has given 44 prayers in the House, and has not mentioned the name of Jesus in those prayers, and what’s more, he says he won’t mention the name.

“I understand my responsibility is to offer prayers that all the members of the House can say ‘Amen’ to, which is the difference in my mind between a chaplain and a pastor. A pastor is responsible for his or her denomination and nurturing their shared faith. So if that’s Christian, you do pray in the name of Jesus. But if your congregation, so to speak, is inter-religious, I try to word it in such a way that everybody present can say, ‘Amen,’” Conroy said.

Conroy, who’s been serving as House chaplain since 2011, begins his prayers with either “eternal God” or “gracious God” and usually ends them with, “May all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory.”

No surprises here. After all, the Catholic priest hails from the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, an order which paid out the largest sex-abuse settlement of any order in the Roman State-Church, $166 million settlement to more than 400 claims of child sex abuse.

In 1986 before the molestation allegations became public, Conroy penned a letter to then-Seattle Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen stating a boy told him that he had been abused by a priest when he was 12 or 13 at a parish in Snohomish, Washington. When Hunthausen didn’t reply to his letter, Conroy sat on his hands and didn’t follow up on the abuse accusation.

The “Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests” (SNAP) opposed John Boehner’s nomination of Conroy as chaplain in 2011. SNAP said that Conroy knew of the abuse and failed to follow up on it.

Now that I think about it, a Jesuit prayer addressed to a generic god is actually more appropriate than one addressed to the God of the Bible and has a better chance in hell of being answered.

For more on this story, see Praying to Jesus on the House Floor.

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HOLLYWOOD’S BIGGEST STUDIOS WORKED WITH HITLER AND THE NAZIS

Hollywood‘s Biggest Studios Worked with Hitler and the Nazis

By Jerry A. Kane

Ben Urwand’s controversial new book, The Collaboration: Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler discloses how Hollywood’s biggest studios worked with the Nazis after Hitler took power in 1933.

In an exclusive interview with the Hollywood Reporter magazine the Harvard post-doctoral fellow talks about how the big studios tried to protect their business interests in Germany in the decade leading up to World War II by agreeing not to criticize the Nazis or condemn persecution of Jews in their films.

Urwand says the big studios allowed Nazi censors to make wholesale changes to scripts, remove credits from Jews, stop movies from being released, and kill whole projects critical of the rise of Adolf Hitler. Scenes or dialogue the censors thought made Hitler and the Nazis look bad or dwelled on the mistreatment of Jews were not just cut from German film versions, they also were cut from American versions and versions shown anywhere in the world.

In May 1933, screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz‚ who would later write Citizen Kane, and RKO producer Sam Jaffe formed an independent company to make The Mad Dog of Europe, a film about the Nazi regime’s treatment of Jews in Germany. The film never saw the light of day because “the major studios had put ‘thumbs down’ on any films of this kind.”

“We have interests in Germany; I represent the picture industry here in Hollywood; we have exchanges there; we have terrific income in Germany and, as far as I am concerned, this picture will never be made.”—Louis B. Mayer, MGM executive

The episode turned out to be the most important moment in all of Hollywood’s dealings with Nazi Germany. It occurred in the first year of Hitler’s rise to power, and it defined the limits of American movies for the remainder of the decade.

Indeed, Hollywood would not make an important anti-Nazi film until 1940.

Warner Bros. did release Confessions of a Nazi Spy in 1939, but the B-picture didn’t affect MGM, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox’s business dealings with the Nazis. Even after the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939, MGM still donated 11 of its films to help with the German war relief effort.

In the most important and chilling decade leading up to World War II, Hollywood’s big studios could have alerted the world to what Hitler and the Nazis were doing in Germany, instead they chose to preserve and protect their business interests in the German market.

“We would be very grateful if you could provide us with a note from the Führer in which he expresses his opinion of the value and effect of American films in Germany. We ask you for your kind support in this matter, and we would be grateful if you could just send us a brief notification of whether our request will be granted by the Führer. Heil Hitler!”—a letter from the Berlin branch of 20th Century Fox to Hitler’s office

Hitler understood the enormous cultural power of movies to elicit emotion and shape the way the masses think, which makes Hollywood’s cooperation with Nazi Germany all the more frightening.

“The shadow of Babylon had fallen over Hollywood, a serpent spell in crude cuneiform;”

I.M. Kane

For more of the interview story see, The Chilling History of How Hollywood Helped Hitler (Exclusive)

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Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler 3:29 Video

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INSIDER TRADING IS CHRONIC ON CAPITOL HILL

“Let’s assume for a second Brook that you’re a United States Senator. If I come into your office and I give you a shoe box with $10,000 of cold hard cash in it, and I hand it to you, that’s bribery. If we get caught, both of us are going to jail.

But if I come in to your office and instead say, “Look, I’m going to give you access to preferred IPO shares (Initial Public Offering shares) of stock, and if you buy these it’s going to net you $100,000 in a single day, that’s completely legal, and it goes on quite regularly.”—Peter Schweizer

I.M. Kane

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CNN Rediscovers Congressional Insider Trading Scandal After Obama’s Call For Ban 3:26 Video

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CHILD SEX ABUSE AND COVER UP BOMBSHELL DROPPED ON HAPPY VALLEY

Joe Paterno’s former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually assaulting eight boys, some as young as 10 years-old, over a span of 15 years.  In addition to the sex abuse scandal, perjury charges were filed against Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and the school’s vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz. Curley and Schultz have also been accused of covering up the allegations.

“This is a case about a sexual predator who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys.”—Linda Kelly, state Attorney General

Sandusky has been arraigned on 40 criminal counts including “involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of a child, indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor … aggravated indecent assault and attempted indecent assault.”

Although the 67-year-old former Penn State football coach retired in 1999, he continued to use university facilities for his work with at-risk kids, which is where he met his alleged victims.

Sandusky was arrested Saturday and is out bail, while Curley and Schultz are expected to turn themselves in today.

I.M. Kane

For more on the story, see Accusations of child sex, cover-up rock Penn State.

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ROMNEY ASSURED ACTIVISTS HE WOULD BE A CHANGE AGENT FOR LEFTIST CAUSES

When Mitt Romney was running for Massachusetts governor nine years ago, he assured activists for the environment, abortion, and homosexual rights that he was an unconventional Republican who would undermine his party’s hard-line opposition to their causes.

Not only did he espouse more liberal views at the time, but Romney presented himself as a change agent who could soften the GOP’s rough ideological edges.—Peter Wallsten and Juliet Eilperin

Romney also reassured the left back in 1994 when he ran against democrat Edward Kennedy for the U.S. Senate that he was cut from the same cloth as the state’s former RINO (Republican in name only) Governor William Weld.  

“It’s a little like if Eugene McCarthy was arguing in favor of recognizing China, people would have called him a nut. But when Richard Nixon does it, it becomes reasonable. When Ted says it [speaks about homosexual rights], it’s extreme; when I say it, it’s mainstream.”—Mitt Romney in an interview with Bay Windows, a Boston newspaper geared to homosexuals

(H-T Quin Hillyer)

I.M. Kane

For more on the story, see As governor, Romney worked to reassure liberals.

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Liberal Mitt’s Greatest Hits: What Romney Doesn’t Want You to See 8:46 Video

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DEMOCRAT SENATORS CALL FOR DOJ INVESTIGATION OF STATES WITH VOTER ID LAWS

Sixteen Democrat senators want the Department of Justice to investigate states with voter ID laws to determine whether photo identification requirements would keep millions of eligible voters from voting.  

“Many of these laws effectively disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters.” Michael Bennet, Democrat Senator from Colorado

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Democrat lawmakers—Mark Begich, Alaska; Michael Bennet, Colorado; Dick Durbin, Illinois; Tom Harkin, Iowa; Mary Landrieu, Louisiana; Benjamin Cardin, Maryland; Harry Reid, Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire, Tom Udall, New Mexico; Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, New York; Sherrod Brown, Ohio; Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Oregon; Patty Murray, Washington; and Herb Kohl, Wisconsin—wrote that photo ID requirements have the potential to keep older people, racial minorities, low-income voters, and students from exercising their right to vote.

“We urge you to protect the voting rights of Americans by using the full power of the Department of Justice to review these voter identification laws and scrutinize their implementation.”

Photo IDs are necessary to curtail Democrat voter fraud that has become rampant in recent elections. They ensure that voters are legally registered, and that they vote only once.

Every state offers photo identification to people who don’t have a driver’s license. Maryland public schools even require students to carry photo identification to prove that they belong in school.

Photo IDs are necessary to fly or cash a check. They are also required to get food stamps, medical assistance, and other government “entitlements.”

Enough of this maddness! Either Americans value their right to vote as much as they do their government “entitlements” or they don’t.

I.M. Kane

For more on the story, see Senators concerned by photo ID requirement to vote.

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WONKETTE LEFTIES HUMILIATE PALIN’S SPECIAL-NEEDS 3-YEAR OLD SON

Satire is used to expose vice, folly, or stupidity through the use of irony, sarcasm, and ridicule for the purpose of instructing and improving society.  In essence, satire makes people laugh before it makes them think.

That said, there is nothing funny or thought provoking about Jack Stuef’s piece titled “Greatest Living American: A Children’s Treasury of Trig Crap On His Birthday” posted at the purportedly satirical, leftist blog Wonkette.

Stuef’s hateful, cruel, vulgar pathetic attempt at satire ridicules Sara Palin’s 3-year-old special-needs son Trig on his third birthday. Stuef’s morally reprehensible, off-color humor suggests that Trig was the victim of incest, and the accompanying Youtube clips mocks the boy’s disability.

Stuef’s unfiltered thoughts reveal the awful blackness that lurks in the minds and hearts of most leftists, as was evident by the indecent, vitriolic assault displayed by the teacher and SEIU unions in Wisconsin.

The rules that govern common decency demand that the naïve and clueless atone for their living in denial and excusing the left’s vile behavior. Plausible deniability is no longer an option.

I.M. Kane

For more on the story, see Wonkette stoops to new low, mocks Trig Palin for mental disability and Greatest Living American: A Children’s Treasury of Trig Crap On His Birthday.

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FLAP RAISED OVER TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT’S ARABIC CURRICULUM MANDATE

A Texas school district will soon make Arabic language and culture classes mandatory for some students at select Mansfield Independent School District (ISD) schools.

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has selected Mansfield ISD as one of only five school districts nationwide to receive its Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant.  Because DOE identifies Arabic as a ‘language of the future,’ the Department requires that participating school districts make the Arabic curriculum mandatory as a condition for receiving the grant.

Mansfield ISD will receive $1.3 million over five years to implement a mandatory program at Cross Timbers Intermediate School and Kenneth Davis Elementary School and an optional program at T. A. Howard Middle School and Summit High School.

Mansfield ISD Superintendent Bob Morrison said the district’s Arabic language and culture curriculum would be similar to its current Spanish curriculum.

Don’t know much about history

Don’t know much biology

Don’t know much about a science book

Don’t know much about the French I took

But I do know that … [those who insult the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, must die!]

I.M. Kane

For more on the story, see Mandatory Arabic Classes Coming To Mansfield and the Mansfield Independent School District Curriculum & Instruction page.

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INVESTMENT GURU MARC FABER DERIDES OBAMA

When Matt Miller and Carol Massar of Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart” asked investment analyst and entrepreneur Marc Faber—who predicted the October 1987 stock market crash one week before it happened and whose market advice since 2000 has been quite accurate—his thoughts on the Ruler, it’s obvious the interviewers were looking for more kowtow than candor.

How many investment analysts have the chutzpah to compare the Ruler to a prostitute before a live audience on Bloomberg TV?

MATT MILLER:  With the political constraints in mind that the President has to deal with, what do you think of the job he’s done and what do you think he needs to do from here?

MARC FABER:  I think he’s done a horrible job and I think that will continue. I think he is a basically dishonest person, intellectually dishonest and change … nothing has changed.

MATT MILLER:  Why do you think he’s intellectually dishonest … keeping in mind he is a politician?

MARC FABER:  [S]ome politicians are more honest than others. I don’t think that I have a very high regard for politicians. I have a high regard for businessman and for people who work, and not for people who abuse the system continuously. And in comparison to other politicians, I think that he came in on a platform as a president that would want to change the government in Washington, and actually he’s made it worse.

CAROL MASSAR:  To be fair, he came in at a time when we were smack in the middle of a financial crisis … You laugh, but he came in at a tough time; maybe now he’s going to start changing the system.

MARC FABER:  You are an optimist. Keep on dreaming. We foreigners, we just laugh about someone like Mr. Obama.

MATT MILLER:  What should he be doing?

MARC FABER:  I was very critical of Mr. Bush, but at least he had one line and he stuck to that line, and at least he set out to do a thing and he was relatively straight on the thing that he did. He may have been wrong, and I criticized him very frequently, but at least he didn’t change his mind continuously, and didn’t prostitute himself.”

CAROL MASSAR:  What should be the one line President Obama should put out there and stick to?

MARC FABER:  “I think what should happen in the US is for a president to tell the US, ‘you have to tighten your belts. We have to go through hard times for 5 years to repair the damage that was committed over 20, 25 years by the Federal Reserve, by the Treasury, by the politicians, and somebody has to tell the truth.’ But the politicians keep on fueling the illusion that you can spend yourself out of the misery, and that by printing money you will improve the economy, which is not the case.”

I.M. Kane

For more on the story, see the Bloomberg interview Faber Interview on U.S. Stocks and Marc Faber’s Most Provocative Interview Ever: Compares Obama To A Prostitute, Goes Long Treasurys.

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NEW YORK DEMOCRAT COUNCILMAN CALLS COPS ON 13-YEAR-OLDS FOR SELLING CUPCAKES

During a visit to Gedney Park last month, Democrat Councilman Michael Wolfensohn witnessed Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff selling cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and Rice Krispie treats for a buck a piece. With no regard for his own safety, the daring Democrat confronted the two bake sale ruffians to find out if they were motivated by charity or greedy self-interest.

After determining the Chappaqua youths were nothing but Gordon Gekko wannabes, the New Castle Democrat deduced the selfish shysters were in fact vendors conducting a bake sale on town property without a license. To uphold the dignity of his elected office, the Town Board crusader reported the infraction to the police and filed a complaint.

The unassuming public servant’s heroics would have escaped public notice had not The Journal News filed a Freedom of Information Law request for the police report and discovered that Wolfensohn had made the complaint against the boys.

Wolfensohn admitted that he could have simply told the boys that they needed a license, but he chose instead to call the cops because “The police are trained to deal with these sorts of issues.”

Surprisingly, the media outlets reporting on the story left out Wolfensohn’s party affiliation. To give Democrats their due, additional research was necessary to determine that Wolfensohn was elected councilman in 2007 as a member of the Democrat Party.

I.M. Kane

For more on the story, see New Castle councilman calls cops on boys’ cupcake sale by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy.

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