Category: politics

Hannity guest says Obama bigger disaster than 9/11

Last night, I was flipping channels looking for the Yankees-Tigers playoff game (Go Tigers!) and as I went through FOX, I heard this guy say that President Obama is a bigger disaster than 9-11. I didn’t recognize him but later found out his name is Neal Boortz, apparently a talk show host. I figured someone would have the footage up this morning and here it is:

 Boortz said:

Killing three thousand people is a tragedy, Sean. It is a real tragedy. But, killing the individualism, the self-reliance, and the self respect of the American people like Barack Obama has done is much more of a tragedy.

Conservatives have such a short memory. Remember the Bush is Hitler controversies that conservatives rightly decried? Boortz’s comments are on the same order and should have been confronted immediately by Hannity.
What an offensive comparison; mostly to anyone who lost a friend or family member on 9/11. However, Boortz also offends Americans in general. By his comments, Boortz demonstrates such a low view of Americans. Obama’s term has not been a good one on balance in my view, but are American virtues so fragile that a one-term President can kill them?

Wretched Radio host stays with American Family Radio

Ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for a decision, Todd Friel, host of Wretched Radio, opted to stay with American Family Radio instead of speak at an event hosted by Brannon Howse. Last week, American Family Radio’s program director, Jim Stanley sent a letter to John Loeffler and Todd Friel, informing them that if they spoke at an event hosted by Brannon Howse, they could not continue on AFR. See the details here and here.
On the Facebook page for the show, Friel posted a vague statement giving defense for staying with AFR despite the ultimatum:

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a difficult situation not of your own doing and forced to make a decision you didn’t want to make? That’s what happened to us. We were minding our own business when we were asked to make a decision to speak at one conference or continue to preach the Gospel on 130 stations.
What would you have done? 
More than that, can you understand how two different people might make two different decisions and neither are sinning?
We are not choosing sides.  We are simply trying to do what we exist to do: preach the Gospel on radio and TV. 
Feel free to disagree with us, but please keep these things in mind:

  • If you are a parent or if you have ever been in a spat with your spouse, you know that there are two sides to every story.
  • We encouraged reconciliation between the two parties.
  • We are certainly not Dominionists….yikes.
  • There is a theological term called Adiaphora: things neither commanded nor forbidden by God.  We believe this situation is an adiaphora.  Two different Christians can make two different decisions.
  • This is not a heretical issue.
  • Do you really think we have jumped ship by making this painful decision?
  • We received much unanimous Godly council.  The options for us were not good, but they were relatively clear.
  • We do not hate either party.
  • This is a wonderful chance to understand the difference between sinful decisions and preferential decisions.
  • We don’t have a number ten, but a top 9 list seemed silly.

    • So, there you have it.  You may feel we’ve made a mistake; but please remember, we are not your enemy.   We have always said, when it comes to heretics, the gloves come off.  When it comes to a brother, we should treat each other charitably and with love assuming the best. 
    Thank you for reading and pondering this.
       – The Wretched Gang

    Since this statement was posted late yesterday afternoon, 117 comments have been made, most of which criticize the AFA and/or Friel for his decision. Here is a recent one which seems to sum up the mood:

    For those that keep asking what happened: AFR sent John Loeffler and Todd Friel notices that either they cancel their appearances at Brannon Howse’s Christian Worldview Conferences or their radio shows would be booted off the air. John Lo…effler chose to side with Brannon, and had his radio show pulled from AFR. Todd Friel apparently decided to keep his show on AFR and has chosen not to participate in Brannon’s conference. If you go to Brannon Howse’s FB page you’ll see more info on this. AFR is coming out against Brannon due to his speaking out against many Word of Faith folks that AFR has association with or joined with in The Response. HTHs for those of you who are asking! I pray that the Wretched gang can find a new media outlet. I understand that it is important to keep their show on the air to get the Gospel to as many people as possible, but to still be associated with AFR after behaving in such a dirty, underhanded way is really sad. AFR just proved that they are not a true Christian organization-if they were, they would not have resorted to such tactics.

    When asked for a comment about the situation, Friel pointed me to the Facebook note mentioned above. The other host targeted by the AFR for associated with Brannon Howse, John Loeffler, decided Friday to sever ties with the AFA.
    Additional note: Perhaps the reason the AFA decided to try to hurt Howse by attacking friends of Howse is that they could be feeling some pain from the loss of supporters. Here is a note, again from a supporter of Todd Friel, that makes me wonder if the work with NAR apostles is hurting the AFA:

    Excellent comments Shirley! We learned this summer that AFA was promoting Dominionism and pulled our financial support. When God reveals the truth about a situation it is wise for a Christian to respond in obedience to HIS Word. Honestly, my husband and I had been troubled about the direction AFA was heading for some time, but upon that revelation it was obvious that we could no longer support them.

    Wallbuilders blames unnamed news source for error about pediatricians

    Remember when David Barton and Rick Green told their audience that the leading pediatricians association in the nation urged school staff to stop indoctrinating kids into homosexuality? The initial response from Rick Green to a listener was to claim that there was nothing wrong in what they said on the broadcast when they referred to the American College of Pediatricians as the leading group. Of course, the real leading group, the American Academy of Pediatrics, denied giving any such advice.
    Today, I received an email from the American Academy of Pediatrics, alerting me that Wallbuiders had retreated from their earlier position. Here is the email forwarded by the AAP and reproduced with permission:

    Hi Debora (sic),
    Thank you for your email to WallBuilders Live, I apologize for the delay in response but I hope I can address your concerns!
    After airing the episode about ACP David and Rick were informed that the news source they quoted during the episode was mistaken. David and Rick sent a letter to the news source addressing the mistaken information in the story. We apologize for the mix up and appreciate your notification as well.
    If you have any further question or concerns please feel free to contact us. Many blessings!
    Caroline Henry
    wallbuilderslive.com

    I took a quick look through Google for anyone else who might have called the American College of Pediatricians the leading association of pediatricians. Can’t find it. If anyone sees something to that effect, let me know.
    I wonder if this news will make it on WallbuildersLive.

    Michael Brown: Here is a taste of next month's NARTH conference

    The National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality claims to be a scientific organization. However, a review of their website finds lots of anti-gay advocacy. In the past, when I bring this up with NARTH supporters, what I have been told is that they do it because the APA does it.
    While I don’t deny that the mental health groups lean left and this bias comes out at their conferences at times, I wonder why NARTH makes any pretense of being distinct from the APA when they feature non-scientists in prominent speaking spots. Cases in point: this year’s conference features advocate of keeping homosexual criminal Sharon Slater who will speak in an applied workshop (I wonder what application NARTH wants participants to take from Slater’s workshop?). In addition, minister Michael Brown will speak in a plenary meeting to all participants. Brown has a book out called A Queer Thing Happened to America. It is not a science book.
    You can hear a little of what he might have to say next month here, courtesy of Right Wing Watch.

    Really?
    There will always be extremes in any social group who want to say, ‘off with their heads’ to people not in the club. We got our reconstructionists and dominionists and the gays may have them some gay dominionists somewhere. I don’t really think I should be judged by the reconstructionists. Should we judge all gay folk by Brown’s gay dominionists (if they exist)?

    American Family Association Takes Aim at Critic of The Response

    The whole article is up at Religion Dispatches.

    The American Family Association has taken aim at fellow religious conservative Brannon Howse over his criticism of the AFA’s recent sponsorship of GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry’s The Response prayer meeting. Earlier this week, Jim Stanley, program director of AFA’s radio network, American Family Radio, sent notices to two talk show hosts who are associated with Howse, informing them that continued presence on the AFA’s radio network was conditioned on severing ties with Howse.
    The talk show hosts, John Loeffler and Todd Friel, have shows aired by American Family Radio and also speak at Howse sponsored events. According to Tim Wildmon, president of the AFA, “we identified two people with programs on our networks and told them, ’you have to make a choice.’” In defense of the move, Wildmon said “AFR is under no obligation to run programs of individuals who are going to help Brannon when he is attacking our friends. We make programming decisions all the time.”

    Todd Friel and John Loeffler are two guys who were doing their own thing and then out of the blue they get an email from American Family Radio telling them to make a choice. Neither one of them had taken sides with Howse against the AFA’s involvement in The Response. Still they must pick a side now. Loeffler chose to leave the radio station. No word from Friel as yet. He has until Wednesday to cancel with Howse or else the AFA will remove his show.
    On a broadcast last week, Thursday I think, Howse said an unnamed evangelical figure wrote to him to say that he had large “megaphones” to use in order to “decimate” Howse’s ministry. The only other evangelical I know who has mentioned Howse in a critical way is David Barton, using the megaphone of Wallbuilders Live.
    This is a kind of internecine war where the ideological issues are complicated. Howse is a social conservative speaker who has worked with Barton and the AFA. However, Howse believes it is wrong for Christians to partner with the New Apostolic Reformation. From Howse point of view, the NAR is not apostolic nor a reformation. Most of the teachings are heretical and the AFA and other social conservative groups are selling out to NAR for a mess of right wing political pottage.