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January, 2010

Who Dat?

Written by Scott Lamb

Everyone in the Bayou state can sleep in peace tonight. The Louisiana government will defend the “Who Dat?” rights of her citizenry:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is getting into the “Who Dat” fray with the NFL, asking the state attorney general to look into a possible lawsuit over the ownership rights to the popular New Orleans Saints phrase.

Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin says the governor’s executive counsel contacted Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office Saturday.

The call came within hours of the state Democratic Party’s governing body calling on Jindal to defend the rights of Louisiana citizens to use the term “Who Dat.”

Some T-shirt makers have been getting cease-and-desist letters from the NFL demanding they stop selling shirts with the traditional cheer of Saints fans. The NFL claims the shirts infringe on a trademark it owns.

I am not making light of intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, etc., but can’t the grown-ups in our society ever get together, behind closed doors, and work these things out? A cease-and-desist order? A lawsuit?

But, for the record, I take Louisiana’s side over the NFL.

Is a Prop. 8 supporter unfit for community service?

Written by Scott Lamb

Should an individual be kept off a City Council board on account of their making a large donation in support of California Proposition 8?

According to the Oakland Tribune, some people in Oakland think so:

A prominent Oakland supporter of the initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California who is president of the board overseeing the Paramount Theatre of the Arts is facing mounting opposition as his reappointment to the board is set for consideration by the City Council on Tuesday.

Lorenzo Hoopes, 96, a former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Oakland Temple, a retired Safeway executive and longtime member of the theater’s board, donated $26,000 to 2008’s Proposition 8 and was Oakland’s single largest individual donor to the measure, records show.

“I think it’s outrageous that we would appoint anyone who calls for discrimination and works hard to see discrimination written into California’s constitution representing all of Oakland on the Paramount board,” said Sean Sullivan, a West Oakland resident and a founding board member of Oakland’s Rainbow Chamber of Commerce who is helping lead the opposition to Hoopes’ appointment.

“I don’t think the council is going to approve him,” said City Council President Jane Brunner (North Oakland). “I think we were all pretty surprised when we heard about (the donations to Prop. 8). I’m not sure council members think that represents the opinion of a lot of people in Oakland.”

I applaud The San Francisco Chronicle in calling for the reinstatement of Hoopes:

This page has long supported marriage equality – and opposed Proposition 8 as a matter of civil rights. In the political arena, it is a battle for hearts and minds. Petty vengeance is no way to win hearts and minds.

Those who would seek to exclude Hoopes from a community-service job that has nothing to do with marriage equality would do well to remember that tolerance goes both ways.

Kurt Warner retires

Written by Scott Lamb

Ten years ago this month, Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams graced the cover of WORLD Magazine. The cover story subhead read: “From the supermarket to the Super Bowl: Kurt Warner and his Rams ride a first-things-first ethic to a national championship.”

Yesterday, Warner stood at a podium in Tempe, Ariz., his wife and seven children alongside him, and announced his retirement from the NFL:

Kurt Warner thanked God, hugged his children and wife and said goodbye to an NFL career that seems the stuff of sports fiction.

The 38-year-old quarterback announced his retirement Friday after a dozen years in a league that at first rejected him, then revered him as he came from nowhere to lead the lowly St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls.

Then, as if going from stocking groceries to winning NFL MVP awards wasn’t improbable enough, Warner was written off as a has-been and rose again to lead the long-suffering Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl.

A man of deep faith who carried a Bible to each post-game news conference, Warned walked away with a year left on a two-year, $23 million contract, knowing he still had the skills to play at the highest level.

“It’s been an amazing ride,” Warner said. “I don’t think I could have dreamt it would have played out like it has, but I’ve been humbled every day that I woke up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose to use me to do what he’s given me the opportunity to do.”

…Warner and his wife operate the First Things First Christian charitable foundation. Last year, he was named the NFL’s Man of the Year for his off-field and on-field accomplishments.

As a native of St. Louis who enjoyed watching Warner’s passion for the game and hearing his passion for Christ and family, I’d like to say thanks to Kurt (and his wife, Brenda) for a job well done.

Making Home Affordable program

Written by Mickey McLean

Have you applied for a loan modification under the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable program? Are you thinking of applying? If so, WORLD editor in chief Marvin Olasky is interested in your story. Please email him the details at molasky@worldmag.com.

New York Toy Fair

Written by Mickey McLean

Are any WORLD readers (small business people) coming to New York for the 2010 Toy Fair at the Javits Center? If so, WORLD senior writer Susan Olasky is interested in talking to you. Please contact her at solasky@worldmag.com.

RANTS! & Raves! 01.30

Written by Mickey McLean

Here it is, Rants! & Raves!, your weekly opportunity to sound off about the week past.

Remember the rules:

  1. A Rave! is something that happened during the past week that you’re pleased about and is signified by the word “Rave!” and/or an appropriately peppy emoticon (see Website Help to learn how to use emoticons, aka “smileys”).
  2. A Rant! is something that happened during the past week that you’re ticked off about and is signified by the word “Rant!” and/or an appropriately grumpy emoticon.
  3. You may Rant! about something a person said, did, or wrote, but you may not Rant! about generally disliking a person. IOW, no personal attacks allowed.

Have fun!

Whirled Views 01.30

Written by Mickey McLean

Good morning, good morning.

On this day in 1969: The Beatles performed an unannounced concert—the band’s last as a group—atop the Apple building in London.

Welcome to our daily (except Sundays) open thread, where you, the commenters, choose the topics of conversation.

Friday Funnies 01.29

Written by Mickey McLean

Varvel0129Click here for a look back at the news of the week, colorfully illustrated by some of the best editorial cartoonists in the business: Chip Bok, Steve Breen (winner of last year’s Pulitzer Prize), Steve Kelley, Michael Ramirez, and Gary Varvel.

This creative cadre of cartoonists offer a unique, colorful, often humorous, and sometimes poignant perspective of politics, the economy, world events, and more.

O’Keefe defends his “integrity as a journalist”

Written by Emily Belz

James O’Keefe, now facing charges for entering Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office under false pretenses, released a statement today on BigGovernment (he has worked for Andrew Breitbart).

Here’s part of it:

On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building.  The sole intent of our investigation was to determine whether or not Senator Landrieu was purposely trying to avoid constituents who were calling to register their views to her as their Senator.  We video taped the entire visit, the government has those tapes, and I’m eager for them to be released because they refute the false claims being repeated by much of the mainstream media.

It has been amazing to witness the journalistic malpractice committed by many of the organizations covering this story.  MSNBC falsely claimed that I violated a non-existent “gag order.”  The Associated Press incorrectly reported that I “broke in” to an office which is open to the public.  The Washington Post has now had to print corrections in two stories on me.  And these are just a few examples of inaccurate and false reporting.  The public will judge whether reporters who can’t get their facts straight have the credibility to question my integrity as a journalist.

Shooting the ambulances

Written by Ken Blackwell

KenB0129bNARAL is gunning for the ambulances. America can be proud of the fact that there are more Pregnancy Resource Centers in this country than abortion facilities. These PRCs sprang up in the wake of Roe v. Wade, not to make a profit from killing unborn children but to extend lifesaving aid. They are society’s ambulances, staffed largely by volunteers and in most cases funded by private donations.

Prior to Roe, churches and charities were attacked as hypocrites: “You condemn sex outside of marriage, but what real help do you offer to desperate young women?” That was the challenge then. All over America, churches and charities stepped forward. They did not condemn. They did not break bruised reeds. Clean and bright, warm and welcoming, these PRCs represent the best that is America.

That’s why NARAL wants to destroy them. Who is NARAL? This outfit was founded more than 40 years ago by Lawrence Lader. He famously said, “Abortion is central to everything in life and how we want to live it.” Lader described the overturning of 50 states’ protective laws by the Supreme Court in Roe as a “revolution.”

Lader went on to fight in the courts for years to strip the Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status. Why? Because the Catholic Church dared to defend the innocent human lives of unborn children.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson co-founded NARAL with Lader. Dr. Nathanson’s conscience was haunted by his having supervised 60,000 abortions, including aborting his own child. Dr. Nathanson now heroically defends life. In his powerful and moving writings, he shows us the anti-Catholic—and anti-religious—roots of NARAL. For if Lader’s attack on the Catholics had succeeded, the Southern Baptists, the Missouri Synod Lutherans, and all evangelicals would surely have been his next targets.

NARAL likes to append “Pro-Choice” to its name. But is it really in favor of choice? In Virginia, for example, NARAL has attacked citizens who freely choose to buy license plates that say “Choose Life.” These pro-life Virginians ask only to be able to choose to donate to Pregnancy Resource Centers a portion of their special license plate fees. No one is forced to pay for these plates. Still, any time anyone freely chooses life, NARAL is there to attack.

NARAL’s attack on these compassionate centers of mercy was turned back in Virginia. But the assault continues in Washington state. There, a bill in the legislature in Olympia would stigmatize PRCs as “limited service” facilities and force them to curtail their lifesaving missions.

Abortion always takes an innocent human life. It is never a service. Even Hillary Clinton once called abortion “wrong.” (Newsweek, Oct. 31, 1994). NARAL is dedicated to making a revolution from above. NARAL wants to force Americans to accept this wrong thing. They are desperate because last May, a Gallup Poll reported 51 percent of Americans identified themselves as pro-life.

Now is the time for lawmakers across the land to reject NARAL’s lethal logic and deadly designs. Join the energetic, enthusiastic youngsters who massed by the thousands last week in Washington to protest the unjust killing of their generation.

Young people understand how this cruel choice is harming America. In Houston last week, the largest Planned Parenthood killing center in North America opened up in a predominantly minority neighborhood. Young people are getting the message of Planned Parenthood’s racist roots. They are learning of NARAL’s founders’ appeals to religious bigotry. They are leading the resistance to the culture of death. Pregnancy Resource Centers are at the heart of that resistance. That’s why NARAL wants them killed.