Obama and Teamsters

According to the Wall Street Journal, "Sen. Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption, according to officials from the union and the Obama campaign."

According to the FBI,

• "Three major U.S. Senate investigations have documented La Cosa Nostra’s involvement in labor racketeering. One of these, the McClellan Committee, in the late-1950s, found systemic racketeering in both the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union."
• In 1986, the President’s Council on Organized Crime reported that five major unions—including the Teamsters and the Laborers International Union of North America—were dominated by organized crime.
• In the early 1980s, former Gambino Family Boss Paul Castellano was overheard saying, “Our job is to run the unions.”

Does Barack Obama seriously think that if the government ends its oversight, organized crime will no longer be interested in Teamsters? Or is he just willing to promise anything to get more votes?

Shooting in Jerusalem

A couple days ago a terrorist attacked a Jewish school in Jerusalem killing about 10 students and wounding numerous others. What was not so widely reported in the American presses was the fact that the gunman many have killed dozens more if not for the fact that he was shot dead by one of the students who was licenced to carry a gun.

Obama connections to Rezko

Tony Rezko went on trial today “for money laundering, fraud, aiding bribery and attempted extortion. He is accused of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking to do business with two Illinois state boards controlled by his friends.”

Who is Tony Rezko? He is a “Syrian-born property developer, pizzeria entrepreneur and political fixer in Chicago.” Earlier this year, Rezko was in prison “for violating bail by failing to declare a $3.5 million loan" from a British-Iraqi billionaire who had been convicted of corruption and with whom Rezko was involved in business and property development.

So what?

Well, it turns out that Rezko is “a long-time friend and fundraiser for Barack Obama…”
Rezko became one of Obama’s “earliest and biggest fundraisers.” Obama and Rezko used to meet “once or twice a year’ for lunch.” In addition, the Rezkos and Obamas have dined together as couples perhaps ‘two to four times’ since they have known each other.” In fact, “As a lawyer, Mr. Obama did six hours’ work for partners of Mr Rezko’s company in state-subsidised apartment rehabilitation projects.”

After Obama was elected as Senator in 2005, he bought a 1.65 million dollar mansion in Chicago. Even though “it was already known that Mr. Rezko was under criminal investigation,” Obama and Rezko viewed the property together.

“Obama is not accused of any wrongdoing. However, money from one of the many alleged kickbacks appears to have ended up as a $10,000 donation to his campaign.” (Read the entire article at Times Online).

But there’s more. The Chicago Sun-Times wants to know if Obama used Rezko to find government jobs for Obama staffers in Illinois’ Gov. Blagojevich's administration.

The names of “an Obama presidential campaign staffer” and two other “people who appear to have Obama links” appear on a list of people to whom Rezko “urged Blagojevich to give state jobs.” When asked if the names came “from Obama, his campaign staff’s short answer: Don’t know—but it’s possible.”

Remember, running for president is not like being tried for a crime where you are assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Becoming our President is the ultimate privilege, it is not a right. That being the case, the burden of proof is on the candidate. The candidate needs to demonstrate that he or she is a person of capability, honor and integrity before getting our vote (if we don’t demand this, we deserve what we get).

Given what we know so far, and what we know of the history of corruption in Chicago's Democratic political machine, I think even Obama supporters should demand a lot of explanation before he gets their votes.

Rick Renzi under investigation

U.S. Congressman Rick Renzi (R. Arizona) has just been indicted on charges that he defrauded the public on a land-swap deal (FoxNews). Rep. Renzi is maintaining his innocence.

New England Patriots cheat?

An article in today’s Chicago Sun-Times alleges that the New England Patriots—who not all that long ago were “convicted of cheating, fined $750,000 and stripped of a first-round draft pick”—have been caught cheating, again!

A fine and a draft pick? Are you kidding me? If a player “throws” a game isn’t he in danger of going to jail? But if the coaching staff cheats to win games they get a slap on the wrist? The new allegations need to be investigated and if true, some people need to get fired or go to jail.

GO GIANTS!!!

Shooting at YWAM

After my last post on the shooting at New Life Church, I received an e-mail a woman named Rebecca Schmidt who wrote:

I knew Tiffany Johnson, the girl who was killed at YWAM. My husband went on a
mission trip that she was on and we've been in her prayer group. This is what I
wrote about her in my Christmas Card:

On December 9th one of our Christian sisters, Tiffany Johnson, was shot and killed in Colorado at YWAM. Tiffany was on the Ghana mission trip my husband Bob went on in 2002. Since that time we’ve had the privilege to see this young Christian grow in her faith and trust in Christ. She sold everything and followed Christ. She was shot eight times. At first there wasn’t pulse but one of the staff was a paramedic and she revived her. Tiff asked her boyfriend to tell her a funny story. Before she was taken in the ambulance, she told her friend: "It is okay. We do this for Jesus!" The last
entry she had in her journal was Gen 50:20: "You intended to harm me, but God
intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many
lives." Chris Murray, the shooter’s brother is quoted as saying: "Even though
satan attacked my brother, I truly feel God is going to save a whole generation
of people through this." We pray that through her death, many will come out of
darkness into the light of God’s dear Son, Jesus Christ. (Posted by permission)

Shooting at New Life Church

Remember the shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs in December? I linked to this article yesterday, but for those who didn’t follow the link, I thought it was good enough to post excerpts. The news media doesn’t seem interested in following the story:

"New Life Church Pastor Brady Boyd calls it a "Jesus moment" and describes a meeting of the families of church shooter Matthrew Murray and victims Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachael Works, 16, as "the greatest testimony of forgiveness I've ever seen."

"It was a meeting he had suggested between Ron and Loretta Murray, whose son, Matthew, shot and killed the Works sisters in an attack on New Life Church in December, and the sisters' parents, David and Marie Works."

"Boyd said he was praying about the situation during the Christmas holidays, and decided to contact Matthew Murray's parents to see if they wanted to come to the church campus, see the location where the attack happened, and grieve for the loss of their son, who committed suicide after being shot by a volunteer security patrol team member."

"I called them and asked, would you like to come to the New Life campus and see the place where your son passed away," Boyd told his congregation over the weekend. "When someone's gone through a tragedy, it's very important to see the place where it happened."

"He said the Murrays had been wanting exactly that, but didn't want to "invade" the church still recovering from the attack."

"Boyd then arranged for the Murrays to meet not only the Works family, but also Jeanne Assam, the volunteer security guard who confronted Matthew Murray as he was entering the mega-church complex where several thousand people were leaving a worship service, and shot at him when he refused to put down his weapon. The coroner later determined he actually died of self-inflicted wound."

"It was very emotional. They just wept and cried and we prayed for them and hugged them," Boyd said. "What the enemy has meant for harm, turned into a moment of forgiveness and redemption" (WorldNetDaily).

The media and interracial crime

Please read Walter Williams' excellent article on how the "Media conceal[s] black interracial crimes." Williams' writes:

According to the 2004 FBI National Crime Victimization Survey, in most
instances of interracial crimes, the victim is white and the perpetrator is
black. In the case of interracial murder for 2004, where the race of victim and
perpetrator is known, more than twice as many whites were murdered by a black
than cases of a white murdering a black. The failure of civil rights leaders,
people like Jackson and Sharpton, as well as politicians to vocally condemn
black-on-white crime – and the relative silence of the news media in reporting
it – is not simply a matter of double standards. It's dangerous, for it
contributes to a pile of racial kindling awaiting a racial arsonist to set it
ablaze. I can't think of better recruitment gifts for America's racists, either
white or black.

Another Hero: Hassan Askari

Walter Adler and three of his friends were riding a New York subway when someone wished them a Merry Christmas. Walter and his friends, who are Jewish, responded by saying "Happy Hanukkah." At that, the one who wished Merry Christmas and about nine other racist thugs begin beating the Jews, calling them Christ killers and other names.

Everyone on the subway just sat back and watched the beating, not wanting to get involved---Everyone, that is, except one man: Hassan Askari, a Muslim from Bangladesh. Hassan jumped into the fight, risking own his neck, to help defend the four Jews! (New York Post)

Most people don't realize that while Jesus never celebrated Christmas as a holiday, he did celebrate Hanukkah (John 10:22-23)! I doubt that this knowledge would have mattered to the thugs.

Anwyay, kudos to Hassan! He is a genuine Hero!

Breaking: Six kids shot in Las Vegas

Fox News just reported that six kids have just been shot while coming off a bus in Las Vegas.

According to USA Today, "Los Vegas police say six young people in junior high or high school were shot after they got off a school bus early this afternoon."

For more information see Fox5 News Las Vegas. The AP is reporting:

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Six junior high or high school students were shot Tuesday
after they got off a school bus, and two were critically hurt, police said. Gunshots rang out in northeast Las Vegas just before 2 p.m., Officer Bill Cassell said.
Six young people were transported to area hospitals. Four had minor gunshot injuries and two were in critical condition, Cassell said.

At least two people are believed to have taken part in the shootings,
he said. Police were not saying whether the shooting suspects were on foot or in
a vehicle.

New Life Church shooter commits suicide

Police have just released an autopsy on the New Life shooter. Although he was shot several times by Jeanne Assam, the security guard, the autopsy showed that the final shot to the head that killed him, came from his own gun (AP).

The fact that the shooter committed suicide does not make Jeanne any less a hero.

Jeanne Assam: American hero

DenverPost.com has a moment by moment account of the final shootout between the gunman and the security guard at New Life Church. A combat veteran who was there said what Jeannie Assam, the security guard did was "the bravest thing he's ever seen." The story sounds like something right out of the movies.

She saved 100 lives!

According to an article on MSNBC, the same shooter killed Christians in YWAM and the New Life Church. The article says he hated Christians (ya think?). The gunman apparenlty had a lot of fire power and knew how to use it (someone speculated that he may have been in the military). The pastor of New Life Church thinks the female security guard who shot the gunman may have saved as many as a hundred lives. This woman is a genuine hero.

UPDATE: According to Shepherd Smith on Fox, evidence shows that the shooter at New Life Church was the same as the shooter at YWAM. He had once been kicked out of YWAM and had been sending hate mail to them. A woman at YWAM was trying to tell him where he could find shelter when he killed her.

When the shooting at New Life began, everyone ran away except the woman security guard. She ran toward the shooting. She identified herself and when he wouldn't stop, she "put him down."

Police discovered that the killer had over 1,000 rounds of amunition in his backpack! Like I said, the woman security guard is a hero. She may have saved many more than just 100 lives. We can only shudder at what might have happened had it not been for the fact that this brave woman was armed.

UPDATE: The security guard, Jeanne Assam is a Christian and a former Minneapolis police officer. See The Denver Channel for more info.

New Life shootings: News conference

A news conference just concluded regarding the New Life Church shootings in Colorado Springs.

The Police Chief, Richard Myers said that the call for help was placed at 1:10 PM. Police arrived on the scend at about 1:13 PM at which time they found that a church security guard had shot the gunman and that she probably saved many lives. The Chief said one victim expired on the scene and four additional victims were taken to the hospital. Some of those have life threatening injuries. SWAT teams are now methodically clearing the buildings of the New Life campus because several suspicious devices have been identified. Other agencies are on site and assisting, including the Sheriff's department, the fire department, the FBI and the ATF.

Pastor Boyd then expressed his grief and thanked all those who were assisting.

Lt. Julie Stone from the fire department then spoke. She said the fire department had provided medical suport and that a Hazmat team was on site. The fire department is also helping to shelter those who will need to be interviewed. She requested that those who left the church please call the police to be interviewed since they may have valuable information to contribute.

UPDATE: Fox News is reporting that the suspects in the New Life shootings had placed explosives in strategic areas around the church campus.

Youth with a Mission shooting

The Arvada Police Department just concluded a news conference regarding the shooting at Youth with a Mission. They are coordinating with the Colorado Springs Police Department to determine whether there is a connection between the shootings.

The gunman showed up at YWAM after midnight. A conversation occurred somewhere in the facility before the shooting occurrec. Police responded within one minute of the call. After several hours of searching they were unable to find the suspect. The police will continue to process the crime scene and will follow up with the living victims.

Two of the victims are still in the hospital. They other two, Tiffany Johnson and Philip Kraus (sp?) are dead.

The suspect is a white male in his 20's, wearing a dark jacket, beenie, beard, and glasses. Police are working with a sketch artist.

UPDATE: CNN just reported that Tiffany Johnson is from Minnesota and that she is the one who spoke with the gunman saying he couldn't stay there.

UPDATE: YWAM forgives after the shootings

Youth with a Mission shooting

According to recent reports, the gunman who shot four people at Youth With a Mission (YWAM) was looking for a place to stay. The reporters at Fox News seem to be confusing YWAM mission with a homeless mission. The YWAM mission center is a training center, more like a college dorm than a homeless mission.

The administrators of YWAM could no more allow a random passerby to stay in the dorms at the YWAM training center than a state college would allow homeless people to stay in their dorms.

Breaking: shooting at New Life Church

At least four people have been shot in the parking lot at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Fox News is reporting that one, possibly two, gunman are down in a shootout with police. There are other reports of shootings nearby. There is no word about whether this incident is related to the one in Arvada Colorado.

Breaking: Fox News is reporting that a suspect has been detained.

UPDATE: CNN is interviewing someone at a Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs. She said they have three victims. One is in good condition, one is fair and one is in critical condition.

UPDATE: Fox News is reporting that the gunman was shot and killed by a female, church security guard. A second gunman was taken into custody by police.

Breaking: gunman hits Youth with a Mission (YWAM)

The Associated Press is reporting that last night a gunman opened fire on Christians at a Youth with a Mission (YWAM) training center located just outside of Denver.

This tragedy apparently took place at one of their Discipleship Training Schools (DTS). According to their website, the DTS are designed:

"...to encourage students to develop in personal character, to cultivate a
living relationship with God, and to identify their unique individual gifts and
callings in God. Cross-cultural exposure and global awareness are special
emphases throughout these courses, preparing the students to reach current and
future generations and answer the call to "Go into all the world and make
disciples of all nations" Matthew 28:19."

Most of the people at one of these Discipleship Training Centers are not professioal missionaries, but ordinary high school and college age kids from around the country. YWAM is a good organization. Please pray for them as well as the victims and their families.

UPDATE: Fox News just interviewed Susan Medina of the Arvada Colorado Police Department. She said the shooting took place at 12:30 AM Sunday and that four people were shot by a lone gunman. The victims were rushed to the hospital. The gunman is reported to have been a white male about 20 years old, possibly with a beard, wearing a dark colored jacket and dark beenie. The shooter has not yet been caught.

See 9News.com in Denver for more info. See YWAM for their statement of faith.

UPDATE: Fox News is reporting that two of the victims have died.

Shooting at Delaware State University

Two students were shot at Delaware State University last night (I once took a music class there). Both students are still alive though one is apparently fighting for his or her life. Please remember them in your prayers. Police are still looking for the gunman.

The torture of Megan Williams

Six white trash low-lifes kidnapped and tortured a young black woman named Megan Williams. For an entire week, they locked her in a small storage shed calling racial slurs while raping her, stabbing her, beating her, pouring hot water on her, choking her with a cable cord, and making her drink from a toilet and forcing her to eat rat droppings.

Prosecutors have decided not to press for hate crimes charges because the state’s hate crimes laws allow up to a10 year penalty while regular kidnapping charges bring up to a life penalty (AP).

Do you think Ms. Williams will ever get over this? Is it really justice to put these people away for life while the tax payers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide for their food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care for the rest of their lives?

Quite frankly, I think it may be time to repeal the amendment against cruel and unusual punishment. These animals should be publically horse-whipped and burned alive at the stake.