This Should Warm You Up for CNN’s Compassion Forum at 8 p.m. EST
By SusanUnPC on April 13, 2008 at 5:56 PM in Barack Obama, CNN, Father Michael Pfleger, Hillary Clinton, Religion, Rev. James Meeks, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., Rev. Otis Moss
From CNN, the host of tonight’s forum with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama:
Obama, Clinton to headline forum on ‘pressing moral issues’
A group that promotes a liberal stance on religious faith and morality issues is sponsoring a nationally televised presidential forum Sunday night featuring Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.Senators Obama (D-Illinois) and Clinton (D-New York) will each be given 40 minutes on CNN Sunday night to discuss the topics of poverty, AIDS, global warming, abortion, genocide in Darfur, as well as human rights and torture. Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, is hosting the live television event, which is being dubbed “The Compassion Forum.” Republican presidential nominee John McCain received an invitation, but the Arizona senator declined. … [more below]
Here are your warm-ups: (1) “Who Hillary Really Is,” a great YouTube about Hillary, including her Pennsylvanian roots, the importance of faith in her life, and much more; and (2) below the fold, there are reports on a eulogy that Rev. Jeremiah Wright gave yesterday, [listen to audio] in one of his very rare public appearances since the scandal over his remarks about “God Damn America” and “Amerikkka” as well as a counter-sermon by a black Virginia bishop to protest Wright’s speech. (The Norfolk, Va. bishop of Exodus Faith Ministries declared a “Unity & Patriotism Day” to counter Wright’s views of America.)
During tonight’s forum, I wonder if Barack Obama will be asked about his highly controversial comments about small-town Pennsylvanians, and if he’ll be asked about his 20-year close association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright as well as his other spiritual mentors, including Rev. James Meeks, Rev. Otis Moss, and Father Michael Pfleger.
From Saturday’s Chicago Sun-Times, “Rev. Jeremiah Wright criticizes media at Eugene Pincham funeral“:
[...]
While discussing “seven lessons the judge taught me,” Wright never mentioned church member Obama, who has rejected some of Wright’s comments, which included denunciations of America for its mistreatment of black people and claims that America’s promotion of terrorism abroad helped prompt the 9/11 attacks. But Wright did take the opportunity to bash some of the critics of his controversial statements, including Fox News personalities Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.
And while Wright made no mention of terrorism, he did revisit the topic of America’s mistreatment of blacks, saying America’s founding fathers “planted slavery and white supremacy in the DNA of this republic,” and adding that Thomas Jefferson wrote, “ ‘God would punish America for the sin of slavery.’ I guess that makes Thomas Jefferson unpatriotic,” he said to the cheers of the congregation.
[...]
Escalating into full-preaching mode, Wright thundered, “Fox News can’t understand that. [Bill] O’Reilly will never get that. Sean Hannity’s stupid fantasy will keep him forever stuck on stupid when it comes to comprehending how you can love a brother who does not believe what you believe. [Pincham’s] faith was a faith in a God who loved the whole world not just one country or one creed.”
At that point, congregants nearly drowned Wright out with a booming standing ovation.
Wright also referred to Fox News as “Fix News.” …
Well, well. It is, at best, politically expedient to pass off all blame on Fox News when, in fact, commentators for dozens of major media outlets and innumerable bloggers of all political stripes have objected strongly to Rev. Wright’s hateful, racist and inaccurate attacks on America and the American people.
Here’s some detail on the protest yesterday by Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr., of Norfolk, Virginia’s Exodus Faith Ministries who “like Wright also a former Marine and also African American will sound a very different note than has been heard from Wright’s sermons”:
Black Minister in Norfolk Area Declares ‘Unity & Patriotism’ Day as Counter-Balance to Jeremiah Wright’s Speech at Norfolk Church
Bishop Jackson Calls for Unity Based On Ideals & Patriotism – Not RACE
Sunday, April 13th, 11:30 Am – 1701 Park Ave. (Hoover Ave. Entrance), Chesapeake, VA. at Exodus Faith Ministries
Contact: Bishop Jackson, 866-573-0772, 757-546-7587
[...]
Wright has been quoted as saying “God damn America”, accusing the Government of creating the AIDS virus to kill blacks, and calling the United States a white supremacist country.”
Says Bishop Jackson, “Last Friday I buried a young African American soldier who died from wounds suffered in Iraq”. “Before he went on that mission – his second voluntary tour – he told his mother he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Seen in that light, Rev. Wright’s remarks are beneath contempt and denigrate the sacrifice of Sgt. Jevon K. Jordan and many other Americans, black, white and every other ethnic background.”
Bishop Jackson has begun a campaign to counter the remarks of Rev. Wright and those who defend him. He argues that Wright’s so called “black liberation theology” is not representative of what African American preachers are offering in pulpits around the country. “We preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified, not hate your country, hate other people and avoid ‘middle class-ness’. The Anti-American, Anti-Israel, pro-Farrakhan message that Wright teaches is heretical to the Bible and Christianity. Christians are too busy teaching what God is doing for us to become obsessed with what real or imagined enemies are doing to us. God commands that we forgive.”
Bishop Jackson is an unapologetic patriot. …
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Here’s more from the CNN article on tonight’s forum. Apparently abortion will be discussed at length:
Katie Barge is director of communications at Faith in Public Life, which is sponsoring the forum. She contends a “new conversation” is currently “bridging ideological and religious divides” in the faith community, even on the issue of abortion.
“Everyone is against abortion — let’s hope; or at least we can find a lot of common ground,” asserts Barge. “And I think that from what I’ve heard Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton say about abortion, is that they would like to see a whole lot less of them.”
Barge shares her hopes about the direction of the discussions on abortion Sunday night: “How can we support mothers who do want to be able follow through with their pregnancy? How can we prevent unwanted pregnancies from happening? How can we get past the bitter divisiveness that we have seen around this issue [of abortion] and really get to work?” …

















