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Third time the charm?
Probably depends on your perspective. But the facts are that a statement published on the government's official White House website confirms that for the third time in a little over a month, President Obama has censored a reference in the Declaration of Independence to people being endowed "by their Creator" with rights.
He just says that people "are endowed."
Obama repeatedly has used the reference in his campaign efforts to boost Democrat interest in the 2010 midterm elections, at which most analysts are predicting a Republican landslide sweeping through Congress and statehouses.
The actual quote from the Declaration is:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
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But according to the transcript of Obama's remarks to a Democrat fundraiser in Rockville, Md., just days ago, he was talking about the greatness of America, and said:
"As wonderful as the land is here in the United States, as much as we have been blessed by the bounty of this magnificent continent that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, what makes this place special is not something physical," he said. "It has to do with this idea that was started by 13 colonies that decided to throw off the yoke of an empire, and said, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that each of us are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'"
Don Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association, picked up on the dropped words immediately.
"Repeatedly now the president has simply said Americans are endowed with certain rights, but persistently refuses to acknowledge with the Founders that these rights are a gift from God," he wrote his constituents. "He stripped God from our founding document on September 15 when speaking to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. He did it again on September 23 at a fundraiser in New York City. And he did it a third time … in Rockville, Md., when speaking to Democratic Senate candidate donors.
"This can no longer by any stretch of the imagination be considered unintentional or accidental. President Obama is deliberately stripping our Christian heritage from us right before our very eyes," he continued.
"If our rights do not come to us from God, they come to us from government. And what government gives, government can take away. President Obama has taken a long stride on the path that leads to tyranny and ruin," he said.
"If you would like to contact President Obama and urge him to put the Creator back where he belongs – in the Declaration of Independence and in the public life of America – the phone number to the White House is 202-456-1111," Wildmon wrote.
Virtually within hours of the president's most recent editing, WND was asking the White House why the first two references deleted the citation to "Creator."
The issued was raised by Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, in a daily briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Kinsolving said, "Twice in recent weeks, the president has quoted from the Declaration of Independence and has omitted the Declaration's reference to rights 'endowed by their Creator.' Why did he omit this part of the Declaration?"
"I haven't seen the comments, Lester, but I can assure you the president believes in the Declaration of Independence," Gibbs said.
WND reported on the first incident, Sept. 15, when Obama told a meeting of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that the document states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
The video, where the reference appears shortly past the 22-minute mark:
CNSNews.com reported Sept. 22 when Obama, speaking to a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, did it again.
"If we stay true to our values," the president said, "if we believe that all people are created equal and everybody is endowed with certain inalienable rights and we're going to make those words live, and we're going to give everybody opportunity, everybody a ladder into the middle class, every child able to go as far as their dreams will take them – if we stay true to that, then we're going to be able to maintain the energy and the focus, the fight, the gumption to get stuff done."
Other references to America's Christian heritage have been excised at the home of the Liberty Bell, the Supreme Court and even the Washington Monument.
Chaplain Todd DuBord, who works with martial-arts expert, actor and philanthropist Chuck Norris' multiple organizations, has documented the ongoing trend at his National Treasures website.