Reverend Michael Pfleger Is Not Going on Vacation Without a Fight From His Parishioners

Wednesday, June 04, 2008
By Brit Hume

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Pew Protest

Parishioners at Saint Sabina Church in Chicago are demanding that Cardinal Francis George reinstate their controversial pastor, the Reverend Michael Pfleger.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports 2,000 people packed the church last night for a prayer service and to show their support. The parish council president demanded a meeting with the cardinal. About 15 members of a young adult group started a hunger strike in the church's sanctuary and plan to "fast and pray" until Pfleger is reinstated. The reverend Jeremiah Wright was also in attendance.

Pfleger was told to take a two week break after a video surfaced of a sermon in which he described Hillary Clinton as crying at a campaign appearance because she, a white woman, was upset that a black man, Barack Obama, was "stealing her show."

Vanity Affair?

Actress Gina Gershon and her lawyers are going after Vanity Fair magazine for allegedly suggesting that she and Bill Clinton are having an affair.

Todd Purdum, who wrote the article, labeled the rumored relationship "high-end Hollywood dinner party gossip."

The New York Daily News reports Gershon's lawyers say their client has only been in the same room with Mr. Clinton on three occasions, and always in the presence of other people.

In a letter obtained by Hollywood Web site TMZ.com, Gershon's lawyers claims that "rumor mongering was substituted for fact checking" and "such conduct is reckless and malicious — giving rise to substantial liability for defamation."

Gershon is demanding a retraction and a "sincere apology."

Equal Rights

Female Islamic extremists are insisting that Al Qaeda give them the right to become terrorists. Usama bin Laden's right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, recently praised the wives of Al Qaeda fighters on an Islamic Web site.

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But, he declared that a woman's role should be limited to the household and caring for children, and that there are no women in Al Qaeda.

But he failed to mention that women in the terror network's Iraq branch have carried out at least 20 suicide bombings since 2003.

Now, The Scotsman newspaper reports a number of extremist Web sites are buzzing with complaints.

One letter written by a female extremist says, "When Zawahiri said there are no women in Al Qaeda, he saddened and hurt me."

Another woman pleaded with God to liberate women so they can participate in holy war.

And, there is even an online magazine which explains how women can take part in terrorist training camps and features biographies of female fighters.

Horrid Hogs

And finally, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is under fire for a Web site called Planet Slayer.

It invites young children to take a greenhouse gas quiz, asking "How big a pig are you?" If the quiz determines someone emits too much carbon dioxide, a pig explodes and the reader is told he should die so that he does not use any more of the earth's resources.

The science blog Watts Up With That? points out that the site breaches the ABC's own guidelines on harmful or disturbing content.

A spokesman for the network says the site is not designed to offend but to engage children in environmental issues.

FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.


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