'700 Club': '9/11 Was Foretold In The Bible, Dreamed Of By Hitler'

Rabbi Daniel Lapin was on yesterday's '700 Club' with host, Pat Robertson.  They were discussing the events of September 11, 2001.  Rabbi Lapin had an interesting take on what happened that day.  He claims that the Bible prophesied about 9/11 in the book of Zachariah.  He went on to say that the attacks were "based on a dream Adolf Hitler had in 1943".

And Robertson falls for it, hook, line and sinker:



Of course, Pat Robertson is the individual that blamed the Washington D.C. earthquake on gay marriage in New York. (I'm still trying to figure that one out.)  He also blamed the earthquake in Haiti last January on a literal "pact with the Devil" the Haitian people made over a hundred years ago.  So, it's no stretch of the imagination that he would believe that a terrorist attack was 70 years in the making.

So, Al Qaeda in a round about way, collaborated with the Nazis?  Right...

Happy Birthday, Lady Gaga

How could I not let the day go by without wishing Gaga a Happy 25th?  Having such a prolific career in such a short amount of time, she'll be remembered as one of the most poignant and controversial artists of all time.  In just three years, Gaga has not only become an identity, but a brand.

Having accomplished much more by the age of 25 than Madonna could have ever imagined, (Madonna had only released her first album a month before her 25th birthday) Lady Gaga has already gone on to win 5 Grammys, 18 MTV Awards, and countless Billboard awards.  Not to mention, as of August 2010, selling 51 million singles, and over 15 million albums.

She is also one of the most unselfish people in the music industry, becoming one very creative philanthropist.  Just within the last 18 months, she has had a hand in raising over $160 million for AIDS research, raising money for PETA, and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan.  She's a vocal, very vocal, advocate for LGBT rights, and, some may say, has done more for the cause than many politicians in Washington.

'Born This Way' has really grown on me over the last couple of weeks, but the video has this 3 minute intro that is just to strange, even for my tastes.  Instead, I'm going to play my favorite Gaga video to date, 'Bad Romance'.  In my opinion, it's the perfect dance song.  You can't get any better.  Enjoy, and Happy Birthday, Gaga.

'We Are The World' Video Premiere

For those of you, like myself, that were unable to see the true premiere of the video during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, I have embedded a copy below. My first impression: mixed. Touching video, and you'll like what they did with Michael Jackson's original parts...somewhat. But autotune on 'We Are The World'? And you decide to start out the 25th anniversary remake of one of the most memorable songs in history with Justin Bieber? Judge for yourself.

If you click on the white title at the top of the video, it will take you to a page on Youtube where you can make a donation to continue relief efforts in Haiti. Somehow the world has already seem to have forgotten about those people. The telethons may be over, it may no longer be on the news every five minutes, but people are still hungry and in need of your help.

Apathy Or Ignorance

I became privy to a conversation that was taking place online concerning donations to Haiti. Someone posted on their Facebook status:

"Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations."

I was dumbfounded. I didn't know where to start to pick this message apart. First, this occurs in practically every country. There is a level of poverty, whether it be great or small, in all nations, even communist countries. Secondly, the poverty level in the United States is roughly 13%, give or take a percent or two, depending upon the region of the country you live in. Haiti, prior to the earthquake, was at a poverty rate of over 60%. It was the poorest nation, by far, in the Western Hemisphere. Add to it a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, killing upwards of 200,000 people, and leaving over a third of the population, or roughly 3 million people, homeless.

My friend explained those points to this woman that posted the message. She received the following response:

To me I don't care any time something happens here no one comes and help us be we are the 1st to help other. We need to help our own people before we help others!!! And all we are doing by helping them is putting our country into more debt!!

At what point did the Hope For Haiti telethon put our nation into more debt? Was it government backed or funded. Did the Federal government agree to match donations dollar for dollar like the Canadian government did? (Classy move BTW)

When the World Trade Center fell, dozens of countries offered aid, but were all refused. We had the manpower and the resources to take care of our own. When the airports were shut down, people opened up their homes to take in Americans, so they wouldn't have to sleep in airport terminals for days. 2,752 people lost their lives on 9/11.

Here is something that you may not know. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, 98 countries and 11 International Aid organizations pledged humanitarian aid, including $854 million in funds(yes cash), of which, $40 million was used. Hurricane Katrina claimed 1,836 lives.

The U.S. has not seen a disaster anywhere near the scale of what Haiti has witnessed. Imagine Katrina multiplied by 100. Imagine the city you live in...gone.

This last message really got me:

and I have the power to NOT use any of my funds to help the people of Haiti!!! I understand what happend to them is bad, but I also know that peoplehere at home are just as hard up for money, food, water, and a roof over their head!!! And that is all thanks to the down falls the came after 9/11.

9/11 happened almost nine years ago. Don't tell me people are still blaming the economy on that! Last time I checked, the economy had a nice upswing, then we hit a recession, but that had nothing to do that day back in 2001. The economy bounced back from that in 2002. And I would be willing to say that people aren't as "hard up" as the Haitians for food and water. Latest reports from the country are saying that groups of armed men are storming orphanages. They threaten to kill all of the children on the property unless they are given the food and the water that has been set aside for the kids. I must say, food stamps and unemployment checks sound so much worse.

I honestly don't know if this is a case of apathy or ignorance. It sounds like she is getting her information second hand, likely reposting something that she read from someone that reposted it themselves. It doesn't seem like they're politically active. If they get their news, it's more than likely from Rush Limbaugh than Rachel Maddow. Sure, I'm making generalizations here, but it's hard not to. On the surface, you picture a Nascar loving, tobacco chewin', Toby Keith fan. If it's not a bunch of white, working class Americans that need help, then they're not worth helping. "So, the world just lost a quarter of a million black people. Not my problem."

Well, it's mine. The nation of Haiti can't take care of themselves. Without our money or our assistance, we would be leaving nine million innocent people to die. Their blood will not be on my hands.

www.hopeforhaitinow.org to donate. Thank you.

Haiti And A Personal " Hallelujah"

I didn't get a chance to see the telethon for Haiti last night. We went out to dinner and didn't get home until after it was over. This evening, I caught a video of Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris' performance of 'Hallelujah' from the program. It made me cry.

I must admit, for as long as I can remember, 'Hallelujah' has been one of my favorite songs. It is, in my opinion, an example of the perfect song. Leonard Cohen put lyric to melody as if he were divinely inspired. It can easily fit into a number of scenarios: love, betrayal, loss and hope.

Hallelujah roughly translates to "thank" or "praise God" in Hebrew. When seeing this performance, it made me make a quick list of all of the thing that I held dear that I could go to sleep tonight and say a personal "Hallelujah" for. Although, I don't believe in God in the traditional sense, per se, I am still mindful of what I have and what I could have easily lost.

With that in mind, make a donation to helpforhaitinow.org, or make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross by texting the word Haiti to 90999. A charge for $10 will appear on your phone bill next month. Conditions are getting desperate. Anything you can do will help.

Royal Caribbean Profiting In Haiti

Last night, the Guardian paper in the UK ran a story online, reporting that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines still has a port of call on a private island in Haiti.

As recently as January 15th, Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas docked in Labadee, Haiti, 60 miles outside of Port-au-Prince. There, travelers jet ski, sun bathe, and enjoy barbecue lunches behind a 12 foot tall barbwire fence, complete with armed guards.

The decision to go ahead with the visit has divided passengers. The ships carry some food aid, and the cruise line has pledged to donate all proceeds from the visit to help stricken Haitians. But many passengers will stay aboard when they dock; one said he was "sickened".

"I just can't see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue, and enjoying a cocktail while [in Port-au-Prince] there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets, with the survivors stunned and looking for food and water," one passenger wrote on the Cruise Critic internet forum.

"It was hard enough to sit and eat a picnic lunch at Labadee before the quake, knowing how many Haitians were starving," said another. "I can't imagine having to choke down a burger there now.''

Some booked on ships scheduled to stop at Labadee are afraid that desperate people might breach the resort's 12ft high fences to get food and drink, but others seemed determined to enjoy their holiday. "I'll be there on Tuesday and I plan on enjoying my zip line excursion as well as the time on the beach," said one.

According to Royal Caribbean, they are donating $1 million to earthquake relief efforts. They also like to point out how they're bringing 40 pallets of rice, beans, powdered milk, water, and canned foods with each trip to the island. According to their spokesman, however, "when the supplies arrive in Labadee, they are distributed by Food for the Poor, a "longtime" partner of Royal Caribbean in Haiti". Being a "longtime" partner tells me that they have been delivering these supplies for quite some time before the earthquake.

At the very least, this is insensitive. This could easily be called disgusting. As a cruise line, Royal Caribbean has many more options than to go into a country that was hit by an earthquake less than a week earlier. It is a slap in the face to the people of Haiti to treat their country as a tourist destination when 200,000 people are dead, as many as 3 million people are homeless, and eat burgers and ribs behind a fence, while armed guards are hired to keep the locals out.

BOYCOTT ROYAL CARIBBEAN. You have many other choices for your vacation or cruise provider. Royal Caribbean charges as much as $2250.00 per person for a room on the Independence on the Seas. Your lack of patronage will be felt. Let them know that you find their practices uncalled for.