Obama Administration to boycott UN Summit on Racism

The Obama administration quietly announced this weekend that it would boycott an international conference about racism and discrimination because of concerns that the conference unfairly singles out Israel for criticism and because the conference may set the stage for restrictions on free speech.

The United Nations conference is set to begin tomorrow in Geneva, Switzerland.Protesting what their leaders see as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel overtones to the conference, Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy and Sweden are also not sending delegations.

Acting U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood Saturday issued a statement saying that the 2009 Durban Review Conference draft outcome document "still contains language that reaffirms in toto the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) from 2001, which the United States has long said it is unable to support" because it "singles out one particular conflict and prejudges key issues that can only be resolved in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians."

"Its inclusion in the review conference document has the same effect as inserting that original text into the current document and re-adopting it," Wood said. In addition, he added that the United States "also has serious concerns with relatively new additions to the text regarding 'incitement,' that run counter to the U.S. commitment to unfettered free speech."

Earlier drafts of the document expressed disapproval of any "defamation of religion."Wood said: "Therefore, with regret, the United States will not join the review conference."Human rights organizations expressed disappointment at the decision.“From the outset we have shared Washington’s deep concern about the efforts by some governments to use the racism meeting to single out Israel for criticism and to promote the idea that religions should be protected over rights, ” said Juliette de Rivero, Geneva advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “But governments have now excised troubling language about the Middle East and ‘defamation of religion’ from the meeting’s draft resolution.”

Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said the CBC was "deeply dismayed" by the President's decision.``This decision is inconsistent with the administration's policy of engaging with those we agree with and those we disagree with,'' she said. "By boycotting Durban, the U.S. is making it more difficult for it to play a leadership role on U.N. Human Rights Council as it states it plans to do.

This is a missed opportunity, plain and simple.''The announcement was not unexpected.In February, Wood said that "the document being negotiated has gone from bad to worse, and the current text of the draft outcome document is not salvageable." United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice told Politico's Ben Smith that the document was "rife with anti-Israeli and other problematic substance" and "not a credible basis for a responsible outcome."

The Obama administration had worked with the Russian leaders chair the conference, as well as senior United Nations officials, on making changes to the document.Ultimately some changes were made -- and specific mentions of Israel were removed -- but not enough to satisfy American policymakers.The draft outcome document specifically "(r)eaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), as it was adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001.

"Much of the debate at the 2001 conference focused on whether or not Zionism was inherently racism, prompting the US and Israeli delegations to withdraw from the conference. An early draft called Israel "a racist apartheid state" and referred to Israel's "systematic perpetration of racist crimes, including war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing."The final language in the DDPA 2001 document, was much tamer, though no other country or struggle except for the Israel-Palestinian conflict was singled out for criticism."We are concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation," it stated.

"We recognize the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State and we recognize the right to security for all States in the region, including Israel, and call upon all States to support the peace process and bring it to an early conclusion."Calling the conference "a celebration of racism and vile anti-Semitic activity" and "further evidence of the U.N.'s inability to demonstrate any semblance of fairness or objectivity on these issues when it comes to the Jewish State," the American Israel Public Affairs Committee issued a statement applauding President Obama's decision as "the right thing to do and underscores America's unstinting commitment to combating intolerance and racism in all its forms and in all settings."

Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories. We thank you Jake for this blog posting.

Santorum says "No" to filibuster!

On Friday, April 17, 2009, once a rising star in the Republican Party and a friend of the The White House Prayer Team, Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., urged a room full of Republican attorneys today to fight President Obama's judicial nominees -- but to stop short of the filibuster.

As he spoke to the Republican National Lawyers Association conference at the National Press Club, the former Senator urged his listeners to refrain from a filibuster of President Obama's judicial nominees insisting that this action would be counterproductive to their efforts to realign the party for a rebirth.

Several wondered aloud why conservatives should hold back with restraint after Democrats blocked several of President Bush's nominees. "We will lose every single filibuster attempt, even if it's the worst judge in the world. We don't have the votes," Santorum rejoined.

"You don't pull out a gun if everyone in the room knows it's not loaded."Santorum also predicted that a filibuster would cause dissent even within GOP ranks. "Half of the caucus will turn on you," Santorum said. "Democrats don't turn on other Democrats. Republicans do."

As we pray for this 111th Congress currently in session, remember that some of what will grow to become a bitter fight on the hill will involve several varying points of view primarily surrounding how we address abortions and family planning concerns. Forever and always a sore spot, this issue looms year after year because we have learned how to skillfully do absolutely nothing.

If you filibuster, which just means someone, a member of the opposition, stalls or outright prevents the issue or concern making up to an actual vote. As you know, if it can't make it to a vote, it then could never become law.

The opposition would need enough votes to block the majority vote or "filibuster proof" by having at least 60 votes in the Senate. So every administration faces the same games by the opposing party so the idea is to prevent that particular president's choices from ever making it to the bench (Supreme Court)...for fear that if they make it, they will in-turn, alter the current balance conviction on the high court and thereby alter abortion law.

When NationalJournal.com caught up with Santorum after his speech, he said that the only way his party will be able to block any of Obama's nominees would be to wage massive campaigns against the most "egregious" ones to the point where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., decides not to bring the confirmation to a vote. Going against every single one of them will not work, he said. Would the former senator be involved in such campaigns himself? "Oh, I don't know," Santorum said with a laugh. "I like to light a lot of fires and then step out of the way.

"One thing that the audience, Santorum and his fellow speaker, Wendy Long, could agree on was their concern about Obama's philosophy in making judicial nominations. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, expressed her alarm about a comment Obama made on the campaign trail indicating that he preferred judges who have "heart" and "empathy." "This is the first time in history that a president has put forth as his gold standard for judicial nominees the very definition of judicial activism," Long said.

Regardless of where you land on either side of the line in the sand, remember to pray for the nation as we approach yet another landmark decision; this one regarding our views on life and death; abortion and a woman's right to choose.Obama has made just three nominations so far.

The first, David Hamilton, nominated to a 7th circuit Court of Appeals seat in mid-March, has already drawn conservative opposition. Hamilton is now awaiting a confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans on the committee, including Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., boycotted Hamilton's confirmation hearing on April 1, saying they didn't have enough time to prepare.

WHPT

No Religious Cover up at Georgetown for Obama!

The White House is having to answer some questions from many bloggers, mostly conservative however, regarding a painted black piece of plywood which was intended to cover a symbol signifying the name of Jesus while speaking recently at Georgetown University. President Obama delivered the remarks on the issue that is on everyone's mind;the economy at Georgetown University on last week Tuesday.

The symbol or monogram as it is being described by many was indeed covered up behind him. The golden “IHS” ensignia inscribed in Georgetown’s Gaston Hall was covered by a piece of black-painted plywood.

Sources within The White House vehemently denied that there was any determined effort to specifically cover up religious imagery or symbols and noted that on the wall directly behind the president there are two religious paintings and there is other imagery throughout the hall. "Decisions made about the backdrop for the speech were made to have a consistent background of American flags, which is standard for many presidential events.Any suggestions to the contrary are simply false,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told ABC News.

Georgetown officials said that the White House requested the backdrop and asked that all signs and symbols behind the stage be covered up.“In coordinating the logistical arrangements for the event, Georgetown honored the White House staff's request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind the Gaston Hall stage in order to accommodate a backdrop of American flags, consistent with other policy speeches,” said Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown.

As we have looked into this matter, as many would come to understand appeals to this organization greatly, it has become more of a non-issue and has furthermore been over politicized by many of our conservative friends seeking to plaster the president up a poster child for the removal of our freedoms of religious expression.

Georgetown officials did not respond to the question of whether there were similar requests for past presidential speeches.This is the second controversy to flare up in the last month with the Obama White House and a Catholic university. The University of Notre Dame’s invitation to Obama to deliver the commencement address next month has sparked outrage among alumni and Catholics nationwide.

They take issue with Notre Dame bestowing an honorary degree on the president because they say his views on abortion and stem cell research are contrary to church teaching. The local bishop in South Bend, IN has said he will boycott the ceremony if Obama speaks. So far, officials from Notre Dame say there is no plan to rescind the invitation to the president.

We don't agree with the implied connotation given this latest episode of distractions and would hope that going forward the White House might take the driver seat on such issues like this. This fiasco will indeed become the driver of all issues discussed as the president visits Notre Dame next month.We need to be in prayer for this White House and the president during this visit so that God may be glorified. Catholic, Jew, Christian, God is in control and we need to pray that protests and boycotts don't rob God of what is due him in this time.

There are a great deal of smart people in the White House, now, we just need them to prevent one group or another from stealing the message and the agenda away from what God is doing for His people who are truly hurting out there right now!

WHPT

412 Doors

The White House is one the nation's largest houses and undoubtedly one of the most famously photographed homes in the world, easily. This home is part of every American's national inheritance. As the office and the home of the President of the United States, it is the one place toward which ciitizens look for leadership from the one elected official chosen to act for us all.

There is no other elected offical directly accountable to us, our problems; this home belongs to us. Interestingly enough, this home contains a total four hundred twelve doors in all over the three floor plans.

Our prayer is that God continues to bless the current holder of this office and his family as well as all other who pass through those 412 thresholds. These doors represent so much more than history will ever tell us if those walls within the White House compound could talk. Ever since its first resident occupied the home in 1800.

The 44th President has now taken the reigns of the People's Home in Washington, D.C. and the doors of opportunity have truly gotten him to this point, however these 412 doors don't descriminate, they don't judge and they are always open to him as well as to all points of view. They see him thinking when most of the staff have gone home after their 12 or 16 hour work day and they await his return from a trip to a distant shore.Pray for these doors. Through these doors, the hope and change that you have prayed for walks, thinks and deliberates.

Pray for these doors so that they continue to serve as a transitional interval beyond which some new action or different state of affairs is likely to begin or occur. These doors are invisible borderlines, breaking points and edges to thought in finality.

Pray for all 412 doors. As you can see, they are more than just doors. They are passageways; but where they lead has everything to do with how you and I pray for the occupant of the time.

WHPT