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To the question of the moment--What did Barack Obama know and when did he know it?--I answer, Obama knew everything, and he's known it for ages. Far from succumbing to surprise and shock after Jeremiah Wright's disastrous performance at the National Press Club, Barack Obama must have long been aware of his pastor's political radicalism. A careful reading of nearly a year's worth of Trumpet Newsmagazine, Wright's glossy national "lifestyle magazine for the socially conscious," makes it next to impossible to conclude otherwise. Wright founded Trumpet Newsmagazine in 1982 as a "church newspaper"--primarily for his own congregation, one gathers--to "preach...

Until the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Senator Obama's spiritual mentor in Black Liberation Theology, popped out of the woodwork, I didn't even know about BLT -- Black Liberation Theology. But the doctrines of Black Liberation have been preached since 1966 in black churches, with the enthusiastic support of white churches of the Left, notably the United Church of Christ. The Rev. Wright runs an official UCC church. Though I am not a professional theologian, I daresay that Jesus would not, repeat not, approve of BLT. Because Black Liberation Theology seems to go straight against every single word in the Sermon on...

In the 1960's I had a lady friend who loved Robert Redford. So, naturally, I got dragged to all of Redford's movies. I saw "The Candidate" several times. In that film, Mr. McKay (Redford), a "community organizer" like Barack Obama, hatches a slogan, "McKay, The Better Way" to run for office. Ironically, Barack "Barry" Obama has now chosen "The Better Way" as his mantra through February 10th. Well. Obama's slogan has about as much substance as the celluloid version popularized by Robert Redford. Obama is entirely a creation of wealthy contributors and powerful, liberal media interests. So what he does...

Maybe, just maybe, it’s now worth at least asking whether Hillary Clinton might wind up as the Democratic candidate for vice president. When the chatter about a Democratic “dream ticket” began last year, it was easy to dismiss. Either Clinton or Obama would win a clear victory in the primaries and, after what inevitably would be a contentious campaign, each would want as little to do with the other as possible. Clinton, if she emerged victorious, would instead choose some kind of national security graybeard to her political right, a retired general perhaps, or maybe even a Republican. Likewise, Obama...

In some ways, Barack Obama's speech on race last week was as brilliant as it was nuanced. But for all its rhetorical beauty, it was also an enormous step backward and, in the end, a rather self-serving call for more discussion about racial grievance in a country that has already done way too much talking. Until last week, so much of Obama's appeal lay in the fact that he was not asking us to talk about the racial divide. Instead, he offered himself as a living and breathing symbol of racial reconciliation; his very origins pointed to the goal of...

Even though Barack Obama has "moved on" from the messy association that he has recently been forced to explain to man who had been his pastor for 20 years, it is clear - the voters haven't. There are legitimate questions being raised about a relationship that spans a generation and the beliefs of a man who has on multiple dozens of occasions issued some of the most vitriolic, bigoted, racism imaginable in America today. No doubt one of the most infamous video moments recently unearthed was Jeremiah Wright's use of what he cleverly believed to be a cute play on...

Despite the efforts of most of the main stream media (and Obama himself) trying to spin the incidents regarding Barack Obama's preacher and spiritual advisor into something acceptable to Americans, and his speech regarding race, by doing some individualresearch, it becomes clear that the spin will simply just not wash. The Trinity Church subscribes to Black Liberation Theology. I believe that Obama will not leave that Church for one simple and obvious reason. Despite his new found disgust in "some" terminology that Wright employed, Obama must agree with the theology that the church teaches. He is raising his kids in...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, IRAQ (Feb. 18, 2006) -- In a modest encampment carved from ancient battlefields millennia old, the Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines, assembled for a roll call three infantrymen of Charlie Company. would never answer. Cpl. Orville Gerena, Lance Cpl. David S. Parr and Pfc. Jacob D. Spann were tragically killed Feb. 6, in Hit, Iraq, when their Humvee was attacked by an improvised explosive device while returning from patrol. Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn, 2nd Marines, the ground combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), assembled...

HIT, Iraq (Jan. 9, 2006) -- Hand in hand with combating insurgents around the ancient city of Hit, the Marines of B Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marine Regiment, are looking to build bridges between Coalition forces and the Iraqi people. First Lt. Chris Richardella and a handful of his Marines were recently able to deliver school supplies and sports items to children in neighborhoods surrounding their combat outpost. “Our first mission is to provide security and stability,” said B Company's executive officer. “But when we get the chance, we try to start on our secondary mission, improving...

HIT, Iraq (Jan. 6, 2006) -- Pushing out from their combat outposts, Marines from Battalion Landing Team, 1st Bn., 2nd Marine Regiment, recently began conducting foot and motorized patrols in the city of Hit, Iraq. During these patrols, Marines executed counter mortar and improvised explosive device sweeps on desert roads and in local neighborhoods to keep coalition forces and Iraqi citizens safe from insurgent attacks. The patrols are part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable)’s ongoing counterinsurgency efforts in the Al Anbar province. “We are conducting these patrols to make our presence known to both the locals...

KUBAYSAH, Iraq (Jan. 4, 2006) -- As their families and friends were preparing to celebrate the New Year, the Marines and sailors of the Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marine Regiment were recuperating after a long, hard day of patrolling the streets in Kubaysah, Iraq during Operation Moon River. The goal of the one-day operation, undertaken by elements of the 22nd MEU (SOC) and the Iraqi army, was to assess the status of essential civil services in the city and show a coalition presence in a city that has seen very little conventional military in recent months. “We wanted...

The Marines and Sailors of Battalion Landing Team 1/8 were summoned to action in early April to go ashore and secure the Al'Mosul Airport in order to provide a means of strategic airlift for the joint arena of northern Iraq. The airport was located in the fourth largest city in Iraq and home to an Iraqi Republican Guard Unit. As they have prepared for so many months to operate in any clime or place, the men of Charlie company expeditiously answered their call to duty receiving a mere 24 hours notice before they began deploying from their ship in the...