Posted on 06/24/2013 8:39:42 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
U2 frontman Bono, who moonlights as an activist for the poor and sick in Africa, is crediting evangelical Christians and former President George W. Bush for saving 9 million from the ravages of AIDS, a campaign the musician said is blessed by God.
"This should be shouted from the rooftops. This is a heroic American story," Bono said in a remarkable radio interview with Jim Daly, the president of Focus on the Family, to be broadcast by the group Tuesday.
Talking freely about God, his marriage, and his relationship with Jesus in the interview provided in advance to Secrets, Bono said that evangelical Christians helped him sell the Bush administration on fighting AIDS in Africa, which he compared to the biblical humanity in tackling leprosy.
"It was the evangelicals that did that," said Bono. "Because they, like myself, pestered George Bush and the administration, who actually deserve praise for starting this out," he added of the $15 billion President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief program.
The interview marked a shift for Focus on the Family as it expands its ministry to offer a voice to those not typically considered Christian-focused and broaden its reach to new generation.
"The way Bono lives out his faith is a message we are trying to emphasize with families every day," said Daly.
In the interview, recorded at New York's American Bible Society, Bono didn't hide his ties to God or the lessons he learned from his example. "I believe that Jesus was, you know, the son of God," he said, adding, "Jesus isn't letting you off the hook."(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
+1
Give us all a break. Pestered? Sounds like a backhanded compliment. All his other praise for do-good leftists would suggest that he is ripe for an honest butt-whipping. Who will do the honors?
Impossible, for two decades, Bono's leftie buddies have confirmed that Bush is at fault for the plight of everything on the planet, and Bono never said a word.
One example from last year, and there's many more out there:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/13/bono-praises-incredible-george-w-bush-and-entrepreneurial-capitalism-video/ "Its incredible, its incredible what George Bushs President Bushs name is in the history books. His name is in the front foreword of a book thats written on the end of AIDS.
The Grammy-award winner and co-founder of the non-profit ONE campaign also told the audience that Africa needs capitalism, not just foreign aid.
Rock star preaches capitalism. Wow, sometimes I hear myself and I just cant believe it but commerce is real
aid is just a stopgap, Bono said. Entrepreneurial capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aid, of course."
I am not a Christian, but any objective observer has to admit they do a bunch of good in this world.
Diseases mutate, and horrific strains can develop if the big problem of such lethal strains (death of the host) is solved for the disease by changes in human behavior.
1918 Spanish Flu: WWI military cantonments, trenches, and refugeee shelters.
1980 HIV: anal sex with a thousand partners a year, or regular sex with 50 prostitutes a year (in Africa, long haul truckers were very active)
Whether or not you agree with Bush or Bono on this issue one thing is certain, Bush will never claim credit for this...unlike Obama where everything is me, me, me!
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
Taxman
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.
I know it’s fashionable to bash Bono and anyone like him here, but credit where due. This is not the first time he’s praised GWB and won’t be the last, the man is sincere if nothing else. And when you look at all the wasted lives, the excesses, personal failure, families and children ruined by the true idiots in the entertainment industry, Bono stands above the vast majority.
Plus, U2 rocks.
It’s certainly rare to hear of ANY Euro Christians, much less one not afraid to speak of his faith. The problem I have with Bono is that he goes around the world pestering governments to give away taxpayer money while he himself shirks paying taxes to Ireland. I don’t blame him for doing so IF he spent some of the money he saved on charity.
I remember him speaking up for Bush back in the day.
It seems some do some intellectual honesty in them.
Much kudos to Bono.
If I’m not mistaken, the reason why he has his money in low tax havens is so he can give more to charity.
Now, if he’d only advocate it for the rest of us instead of tying our hands in taxes.
Perhaps, but it would be telling to see just how much he’s given away as opposed to “hoarding”.
Here’s another recent interview:
http://www.wnd.com/2013/06/u2s-bono-jesus-is-the-son-of-god/
To my surprise, I am learning that he’s a pretty good fellow.
Back in the day? In 2005 one of my husband’s clients took us to a U2 concert in New Jersey. I was not thrilled about going, but did not want to insult the man after he got us tickets for the sold out concert. There was more bad-mouthing about Bush and Republicans and putting down the US than there was singing during the first set. People in the audience were getting angry and many were yelling at him to shut up and sing. A few of the people around us left the concert. When the band came back after intermission, Bono finally shut up and started singing. I think he realized that he went a little too far. I never have gotten over the bad feelings I had for him and it will take more than this article to make me believe he isn’t still a stinking liberal.
Excerpt:
A decade ago, Africa was literally dying. While the rest of the world advanced through free market reforms in the last two decades, Africa was left out, in no small part because so many of its people were either dying of AIDS or expecting to die. This curse made development or hope in the future nearly impossible....
... President Bush took it upon himself to start a new kind of aid program with Africa in mind. It would not be like the others, which were mostly multi-billion-dollar ratholes that only enriched aid rackets and government elites....
The programs focused less on delivering cash to governments and instead focused on partnering with businesses that create life-saving drugs, and working with churches to deliver preventive treatments.... That approach, bypassing weak and corrupt governments, ensured that aid got delivered.
It also made those countries allies....
Even as Bush’s achievement is largely unknown or ignored here, it’s known across Africa. People from Kenya, South Sudan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria repeatedly praise Bush’s initiative and consider him a hero....
Bush himself said he believed he acted in the U.S. national security interest. “Suffering abroad can be a warning sign of future disorder and conflictthe distant thunder that reveals a gathering storm. It is hopelessness that aids extremists and spreads deadly ideologies,” he wrote in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal.
Now Africa is transformed, a continent loaded with countries on an upward economic trajectory with a viable labor force and real prospects for foreign investment and the economic growth that follows.
In coming years, Africa will matter economically because the life-or-death scourge of AIDS is no longer the threat it once was. As such, President Bush is the real hero here, his quiet humanitarian work to save lives as strong as any of his other accomplishments.
It's a rhetorical question. I know the answer. So do you.
Yep.
There’s a bit to criticize Bush about, but not this.
bttt
Africa AIDS/development is about globalism.
Mr. Bono is simply a front man for the financial oligarchy, like most folks in the “entertainment” (propaganda/mind control) industry.
This is a main agenda of globalism, the Bushes love it, the Clintons love it, most Congressmen love it, investment bankers love it, many large corporations love it, the “foundations” love it, etc., etc.
I’ve posted on this in the past, the NIE delivered to Clinton in early 2000, the Cairo conference in 1995 (every 10 years), etc.
http://www.unfpa.org/public/icpd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Conference_on_Population_and_Development
This is why anyone working on behalf of the financial oligarchy (globalism) is all “let’s get along” on this issue.
Ask David Rockefeller about it. Ask Bill Gates and Buffet-Hathaway about it.
We’re just chickens in a henhouse to those people; they’re concerned if the “flock” gets too big. Also, diving into Africa - like any undeveloped area - is a great money-making opportunity. To understand how (it’s a little strange seeing as how the people are generally so poor there) the money is made takes a little research.
Thank you Bono, for giving credit where credit is due.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.