Palestinian Attack In Israel Part of God's Judgment, Said Recent Guest At Palin's Church
September 2, 2008 04:19 PM
After several months of scrutinizing Barack Obama's former place of worship, reporters are now taking a close look at Alaskan churches frequented by presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
As the Huffington Post reported earlier Tuesday, Palin addressed a gathering at the Wasilla Assembly of God, asking them to pray for oil pipeline development and "God's will" in Iraq. Meanwhile, the Boston Herald and Newsweek have both identified Wasilla Bible Church as the Alaska Governor's most recent church. And it was at that Bible Church where a recent guest described a Palestinian attack on Israeli citizens as part of God's judgment coming to pass on Earth -- an analysis likely troubling both to Jews, as well as to mainstream foreign policy analysts.
Describing a trip by his son to Jerusalem, Jews for Jesus founder David Brickner described the a July Palestinian bulldozer attack against Israeli civilians as part of God's "judgment."
That speech, from August 17, is posted on the church's website, along with all other recent addresses delivered to the congregation.
In a talk entitled "The Jerusalem Dilemma," Brickner also went on to describe all of the problems in the Middle East as related to Jerusalem. "But what we see in Israel, the conflict that is spilled through the Middle East, really which is all about Jerusalem, is an ongoing reflection of the fact that there is judgment," Brickner told Palin's church, adding: "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When Isaac [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."
Brickner's analysis tracks with various other strains of evangelist Christian eschatology, but finds decidedly less favor in foreign policy circles. With Gov. Palin's views on foreign policy mostly unknown, and the McCain campaign thus far ill disposed to the idea of making her available to the national press, it's unclear how much stock she personally puts in Brickner's theory. An email to the McCain campaign asking for clarification was not immediately returned.
In an interview with Investor’s Business Daily last July, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) took issue with those who say that drilling for oil in the U.S. will not solve America’s energy problem. “I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can’t drill our way out of our problem,” Palin argued. Yet last night during her speech accepting the Republican nomination for Vice President, Palin mocked her “opponents” for reminding her that “drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems” :
PALIN: Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems - as if we all didn’t know that already. But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
When Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, he trumpeted her husband’s union membership: “The person I’m about to introduce to you was a union member and is married to a union member, and understands the problems, the hopes and the values of working people,” he said. That day, and again last night, Palin also emphasized that her husband is “a proud member of the United Steelworkers Union.”
Conservatives are hoping the reference will play well in Michigan and Ohio. But the United Steelworkers union (USW) isn’t so pleased. USW President Leo Gerard noted that just because Todd Palin is a union member doesn’t mean that Palin is automatically qualified to represent labor interests:
It is important to realize that while the governor’s husband is a member of a union, this does not automatically qualify her for an on-the-job training program to become a heartbeat away from the presidency. And while her husband is one of 850,000 dues-paying members of the steelworkers union, it does nothing to absolve Sen. McCain of his long history of anti-union sentiment and anti-worker actions.
In fact, McCain’s hostility to unions and union priorities runs deep:
– McCain voted to block the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize. [6/26/07]
– McCain condemned unions as “serious excesses” and said government workers are “crippled” by union contracts. [10/9/07; 5/21/07]
– McCain voted to filibuster minimum wage hike in 2007 [1/24/07]
– McCain voted against a bill protecting discrimination against workers who go on strike, effectively allowing companies to hire permanent replacements for striking workers. [S. 55, 7/13/94]
– McCain voted against an amendment providing more effective remedies to victims of gender discrimination in the payment of wages. [7/17/07]
Are you with McCain [base ']Äì and against workers [base ']Äì on these issues? If so, you need to stop using your husband[base ']Äôs membership in the USW as a prop, because then his union card cannot possibly cover up your or John McCain[base ']Äôs worker-savaging positions.
Last weekend, we hoped that a rumor, that Trig Palin is actually Bristol Palin's son, wasn't true. Our dreams were realized on Monday, when it was confirmed that Bristol is currently 5 months pregnant with her very own Palin. The timeline suggests that it is very unlikely that Bristol is also Trig's mom.
Last night, we heard a rumor that we're praying is true. Sarah Palin cheated on her Eskimo husband Todd, with one of his business associates. America's top muckraking newspaper, the National Enquirer, has sent its elite team of John Edwards investigators to Alaska to get the real (or should we say rielle, har har) story.
During his RNC speech tonight, Mike Huckabee declared that Sarah Palin “got more votes running for Mayor of Wasilla than Joe Biden got running for President of the United States.” After his speech, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann pointed out that this was a lie, since Biden received more than 30,000 votes in the primaries, while Palin received 616 votes — to her opponent’s 413 — in her 1998 bid:
OLBERMANN: Biden got 15,000 votes in Florida, 18,000 votes in California, in the primaries there — more than could have been gotten in two elections for the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska for Sarah Palin.
Watch it:
Olbermann also corrected Huckabee’s claim that Abraham Lincoln was the founder of the Republican Party. “It was actually founded in 1854 by disaffected members of the Whig party,” Olbermann said, adding, “Mr. Lincoln joined later on and ran for office in 1860.”
Eight protesters at the RNC were charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act yesterday. The suspects’ lawyer called the charges ridiculous, saying the accusations are “an effort to equate publicly stated plans to blockade traffic and disrupt the RNC as being the same as acts of terrorism.” So far, nearly 300 protesters and journalists have been arrested.
“Sick Americans who travel far or frequently to get medical treatment are skipping or delaying appointments, leaving support groups and applying for grants,” because of the high price of gas.
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, “who pleaded guilty to a scheme to corrupt Congress, asked a federal judge for mercy on Wednesday, saying he was ‘not a bad man’ although he acknowledged he ‘did many bad things.’
When Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) as his running mate, McCain “emphasized her role as the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard” and “her military command experience as governor.” Yet Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard, noted that Palin “has no command authority overseas or anywhere in the U.S. other than Alaska.”
Last night, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, and Gov. Sarah Palin addressed the Republican National Convention. Between the four of them, there was only one reference to President Bush — in Romney’s pre-prime-time speech. Romney praised “George Bush” for labeling “the terror-sponsor states the axis of evil.” On Tuesday night, Bush was never mentioned by the RNC speakers.
Last night on the Daily Show, host Jon Stewart skewered Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly for claiming Bristol Palin’s pregnancy is “a personal matter,” when last year he pointed the finger of blame at Jamie-Lynn Spears’ parents — “who obviously have little control over her” — and called Spears an “incredible pinhead” when she revealed she was expecting. Stewart joked, “You see what happens with opinions over teen pregnancy is that they gestate over a period of months.” Watch it:
Stewart also pointed out Karl Rove’s radical inconsistency when he mocked Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) for being mayor of Richmond: “It’s not a big town.” Rove has since praised Palin’s executive experience as Mayor of Wasilla, population 9,700.
When Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, he trumpeted her husband’s union membership: “The person I’m about to introduce to you 
