Year: 2010

Here is video of opening remarks by Rep. Tammy Baldwin…

Here is a summary of testimony. And then today 90+ Congressmen signed a letter to President Obama urging an effective response.

Here is a video report from NTV in Uganda regarding a Ugandan Cabinet meeting where the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was debated.

Hon. David Bahati, bill sponsor, signalled some willingness to amend the bill but has been silent about the nature of the changes. Later yesterday a debate on possible changes yielded little fruit.

The committee, to be chaired by local government minister Adolf Mwesige, will come up with a proposal that will be forwarded to the legal, parliamentary, presidential and foreign affairs committees.

“It was a heated debate for over two hours. Those who expressed reservations fear the cutting of aid by western governments,” said a source who preferred anonymity.

“Those for it argued that we need to maintain our independence and values as a country,” the source added.

There were 21 Cabinet members in the meeting.

While broadly supported domestically, the 2009 anti-homosexuality Bill has caused a tempest abroad and anxiety from western donors who fund a large chunk of Uganda’s budget.

Those opposed to the Bill say it is discriminatory and violates human rights.

ht: BTB

I posted this on my Christian Post blog a couple of days ago. I now have some video of the hospital referred to in the letter below. I have also learned we may have some Haitian orphans coming to our local community. The NT book of James 1:27 teaches:

Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Let’s do it. Here is the video.

A friend sent me an email from a priest in Haiti who is struggling to respond to the tragic earthquake. 

Hello Friends

After driving by night to Kennedy Airport January 12, and flying to Dominican Republic January 13, Conan and I arrived to Haiti this morning in the helicopter of the President of the Dominican Republic.

Our first tasks were the medical evacuation of one of our American volunteers, the medical evacuation of one of our Cuban doctors, the evacuation of the body if one of our American  visitors. 

The search still continues in the rubble for another missing American volunteer. 

We also had 18 funerals today.

One for John who works at our St Luke program. We miss John very much. He often stopped to at my door to tell me the milestone of his developing baby, which delighted him no end. John ran our computerized language lab. Another was for Johanne’s mother. Joanne is one of the directors of the St Luke program. All the others were of unknown people who were sadly rotting by the wayside.

Other sadnesses,

The death of Immacula, our only physician assistant, who worked at our huge outpatient side of our hospital.  The death of ALL but one of Joseph Ferdinands brothers and sisters, the death of the husband of Jacqueline Gautier as he was visiting a school which fell and all the students (all died), the death of our ex-pequeno Wilfrid Altisme who was in his 5^th year of seminary for priesthood. Other stories of deaths of people who are dear to us keep coming in.

We spent the rest of the time managing the countless people with serious and severe wounds, coming to our hospital. We are doing our best for them, under trees and in the parking lot with ever diminishing supplies. We will work throughout the night and beyond. No stores are open, no banks are open. Diesel is running out. Will be out in two days if we don’t find a solution, which will mean no power at all. The hospital is without water since there is some broken line between the well and the water tower.

Structural damages to the hospital seem superficial at first glance, but about half the outer perimeter walls have fallen. The old hospital in Petionville is in ruins, And teams of workers, led by Ferel, and been digging for Molly non stop around the clock.

WE HAVE NO INTERNET. OUR PHONES DO NOT WORK. IF A CALL DOES GET THROUGH WE CAN’T HEAR OR BE HEARD. Robin has internet access through a satellite. I asked her to send this message for me, and to ready my emails and answer them as best she can for now.

Please continue to pray for us. We pray for you too.

Fr Rick Frechette

First things first. This dear man works with Friends of the Orphans in Haiti. You can help him directly by going to their website (friendsoftheorphans.com) and making a donation. He is an MD who runs the hospital there and has given away all of his supplies. In a tragic circumstance, one can turn away from hope or toward it. In the midst of so much heartbreak, Father Rick is choosing hope and we should choose to help. Now would be a good time.

For other helping opportunities, click here.

Whether you support health care reform or not, wouldn’t the election of Republican Scott Brown in MA seem like a signal to slow things down?

Apparently Senate Democrats don’t think so. Senator Dick Durbin wants to get the bill signed before Brown can get into town and laid out a couple of ways to do it.

I suspect GOP strategists are torn. They don’t like the health care options but if the Dems ram something through, prospects for the midterm election should improve to an even more optimistic level.

Yesterday, I disclosed that Hon. David Bahati, author of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, would not be attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC on February 4. I then posted an update and statement from Ambassador Richard Swett, spokesperson for the National Prayer Breakfast. I am providing both here in this post.

Here is my post from yesterday:

Author of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Uganda MP David Bahati, will not be attending the National Prayer Breakfast according to sources with the Fellowship Foundation. On Sunday, Uganda’s Monitor reported that Bahati planned to attend and to speak at the event. However, according to Bob Hunter and others with the Fellowship Foundation, Bahati was invited months ago [prior to introducing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill] to come to Washington DC only as a volunteer and not to attend the NPB event. According to these sources, Bahati declined the invitation prior to introducing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. According to Mr. Hunter, the Monitor article and Bahati’s statements came as a complete surprise to the NPB officials here. However, in the event the article was accurate, the NPB officials and Congressional leaders were taking action to assure that Bahati did not come to any of the meetings.

I want to make clear that according to the Fellowship the invitation to come to Washington, DC as a volunteer was made prior to the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in October, 2009.

Then today, I received this statement from National Prayer Breakfast spokesperson, Ambassador Richard Swett. Richard Swett was Ambassador to Denmark from 1998-2001. Prior to that post, he represented the 2nd district of New Hampshire from 1991-1995 as a Democrat. 

Ambassador Richard Swett, a longtime associate of the Fellowship Foundation since his days in Congress in the early ‘90s, confirmed the accuracy of Mr. Hunter’s report to Warren Throckmorton. He went on to state, “The National Prayer Breakfast is an organization that builds bridges of understanding between all peoples, religions and beliefs and has never advocated the sentiments expressed in Mr. Bahati’s legislation.”

For more information, contact Bob Hunter at [email protected].