RNC Chair 'Shocked and Appalled' by Obama Parody

(Chip Saltsman, seeking the RNC chairmanship)

By NATASHA T. METZLER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Chairman of the Republican National Committee on Saturday admonished one of his potential successors for giving members a CD featuring a song called "Barack the Magic Negro."

Chip Saltsman, who is seeking the RNC chairmanship, sent committee members a 41-track CD by conservative comedian Paul Shanklin as part of his Christmas message to committee members. The CD includes the controversial song about President-elect Barack Obama.

"The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party," RNC Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan said in a statement. "I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction."

The ditty originated on Rush Limbaugh's radio program in reference to a March 2007 opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times by David Ehrenstein headlined "Obama the 'Magic Negro.'" In the article, Ehrenstein argued that voting for Obama helped white voters alleviate guilt over racial wrongs in the past.

Shanklin's parody is sung to the music of "Puff, the Magic Dragon."

Other tracks on the CD are titled "I Can Talk Like a Coal Miner's Daughter," "Love Client #9" and "Down on the Farm with Al Gore."

"Paul Shanklin is a longtime friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are lighthearted political parodies," Saltsman told The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper that published a story about the CD on Friday.

Saltsman managed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign

Limbaugh has insisted that the song was a parody to prove a point about liberal white voters.

"I can tell you think the term 'Negro' is inappropriate, that it's old hat and shouldn't be used, that it's divisive and this sort of thing, and you may have a point," Limbaugh told a caller objecting to the song in March 2007, according to show transcripts. "But remember what we do on this program: We illustrate absurdity by being absurd."

The lyrics of "Barack the Magic Negro" (audio here)

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Headlines Over the Past 72 Hours

I'm back a couple of days early. I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I'm sure you been watching the news, but if you haven't, here are some stories you might not have heard about:

• Airstrikes On Gaza Leave 205 Dead: Israel says an operation against Hamas installations in Gaza is only just beginning.
  

• Australia may take Guantanamo detainees: Aren't those Aussies great?

• Major Power Outage in Honolulu as Obama Visits: I think that's the first sign of the anti-Christ right?

• Cops accused of Toys for Tots Thefts: D.C.'s finest at work

• Former republican lawmaker pleads guilty in child sex case:Caught in motel with two vibrators & liquor, sounds like a Larry Flint flick.

• White Farmers Confront Mugabe: The struggles of the White man continue.....

• Joseph Stalin, voted Russia's greatest countrymen?: If that's the case, George W. Bush America's greatest president.

• Chinese Warships Embark on Antipiracy Mission: Does China have bigger balls than us?

Merry Christmas to all.......Liberals & Conservatives

To all you guilt by association liberal hating conservatives Merry Christmas. To all you conspiracy theory gun hating liberals Happy Holidays.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.....I won't be back till Monday....I leave with a different look at Christmas. Not that mushy crap your used to :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CHICAGO!!

Obama & Family Attend His Grandmother's Memorial

(AP) President-elect Barack Obama gathered with family and friends on Tuesday for a private memorial service for the beloved grandmother who helped raise him.

Madelyn Payne Dunham, known to her friends as "Toot", died Nov. 2, two days before Obama won election to become the nation's first African-American president. She was 86.

Obama did not speak to reporters at the small home that had been converted into the First Unitarian Church in the neighborhood of Nuuanu. Aides said Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her husband, Konrad Ng, also were present.

Following the ceremony, Obama drove to cliffs east of Hononulu. He and about 20 members of his family climbed over a stone wall and down onto rocky ledges to scatter Dunham's ashes at Lanai Lookout.

Obama earlier this year left flowers at the same cliffs, in memory of his mother.

Regular Hardworking Published Author Tv, Internet Celebrity Joe

In case you missed the Average Joe spokesman Joe Wurzelbacher "Aka" Joe the Plumber granted CNN an interview today.

Joe had his average Joe agent set it up. He also promoted his average Joe book, wearing his average Joe clothes with the help of his average Joe publicist. Why don't we just leave this poor hardworking plumber alone.

You damn media people just keep messing with the poor guy!

Report Says Obama, Top Aides, Have Been Interviewed by U.S. Attorney's Office

Incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a series of conversations with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his top aide about possible replacements for President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate -- but he never discussed any possible deals with them, according to a report prepared by the Obama transition office and released today.

While clearing Emanuel and all other Obama aides of wrongdoing, the report also discloses that Obama, Emanuel and the president-elect's friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett were interviewed by the U.S. Attorney's office last week, though it gives no details of those conversations.

The report also....

Watch: The Day in 100 Seconds

"Merry Christmas!". "Thanks, Your Fired"

By MELISSA NELSON | Associated Press Writer

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A Christian woman claims she was fired from her job because she greeted callers with "Merry Christmas," but the vacation rental company says it's no Scrooge and the woman is just a disgruntled employee.

Tonia Thomas, 35, said she refused to say "Happy Holidays" and was fired, even after offering to use the company's non-holiday greeting. The Panama City woman filed a federal complaint that accuses the company of religious discrimination. She is seeking compensation for lost wages.

"I hold my core Christian values to a high standard and I absolutely refuse to give in on the basis of values. All I wanted was to be able to say 'Merry Christmas' or to acknowledge no holidays," she said Tuesday. "As a Christian, I don't recognize any other holidays."

Thomas said she is Baptist.

Her former employer, Counts-Oakes Resorts Properties Inc., said she wasn't fired for saying "Merry Christmas," but would not elaborate.

"We are a Christian company and we celebrate Christmas," said Andy Phillips, the company's president. Thomas is "a disgruntled employee," presenting a one-sided version of what happened when she was fired Dec. 10, Phillips said.

Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based legal group that advocates for people discriminated against because of their religion, is representing Thomas before the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Their complaint also accuses the company of harassing and taunting Thomas after she was fired by calling the police to watch her pack her belongs and leave.

Thomas could have hard time winning the case, said G. Thomas Harper, a Jacksonville-based labor attorney who writes a newsletter on Florida employment law.

"I wouldn't think an employee has the right to insist (on saying Merry Christmas) unless that really is a tenet of their faith. She would have to make a strong case that was part of her beliefs, if not, it becomes insubordination," he said.

Thomas has found another job, but she makes less than the $10.50 an hour she earned with the rental company. She said the trauma of being fired and the pay cut has made for a tough holiday season for herself, her husband and their 6-year-old son.

Harper said when it comes to holiday greetings, the smartest choice might be ignoring the season.

"The best option is just not to say anything," he said.

Rham Emanuel Escaping to Africa as Report is Released

Seems very convenient both Barack Obama & Rham Emanuel will be gone off the continent of North America as the report pertaining to contact with Rod Blagojevich comes out today.

Emanuel and family left today for Africa on a "long planned family vacation in Africa," a transition official confirmed to the Huffington Post.

The report of course today is supposedly going to clear Emanuel of any wrongdoing with his contacts with the governor's office.

Of course with both of these guys gone, it will leave a gaping wide opening for their critics to raise questions on why they are not here and why it seems suspicious that they left before the report came out.

Luckily Sean Hannity won't be back till after Christmas.

Morning Show Roundup

Obama Family Photos: "Here You Go"

People were complaining on Huffpo about Bauer Griffin's site because their servers could not handle the traffic to see the Obama family on vacation. Well here they are! I could care less but some folks may have wanted to see them, enjoy.

Media Matters: Cokie Roberts--"Most Insane Comment of 2008 Race"

I'm not sure when Hawaii, probably the countries biggest tourist attraction became un-american. If you listen to Cokie Roberts, you would believe that Barack Obama and family went off to Moscow for vacation.

Cokie Roberts, NPR contributing senior news analyst and ABC political commentator, of then-Sen. Barack Obama for choosing Hawaii, the state of his birth, to take his August family vacation was the most popular entry in Media Matters for America's poll for Most Inane Punditry of the 2008 presidential campaign. Readers chose Roberts' comments -- which included her characterizing Hawaii, where Obama vacations regularly, as "foreign, exotic" -- in greater numbers than her two closest competitors combined. Roberts stated:

"I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii and I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place," adding, "He should be in Myrtle Beach, and, you know, if he's going to take a vacation at this time."

Obama Chooses Lincoln's Bible for Inauguration

(Abraham Lincoln's Inauguration Bible)

WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama will use the same Bible at his inauguration that Abraham Lincoln used for his swearing in.

Obama will be the first president since Lincoln to use that Bible, part of the collection of the Library of Congress.

"President-elect Obama is deeply honored that the Library of Congress has made the Lincoln Bible available for use during his swearing-in," Presidential Inaugural Committee Executive Director Emmett Beliveau said in a statement Tuesday.

Obama is also tracing the train route that Lincoln took and holding a welcome event at the Lincoln Memorial ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration.

The burgundy velvet Bible with gilded edges was purchased and inscribed by William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court.

It will be on display at the Library of Congress February 12 to May 9 as part of an exhibition titled "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition." The exhibit will then travel to five other American cities in commemoration of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth on Feb. 12, 1809.

Da Coach for Governor?

Why the hell didn't I think of this first? Starting a website promoting Mike Ditka for governor of Illinois. For those who don't know, Mike Ditka is beloved here in the city of Chicago. Since Superbowl 85', he has been a hometown celebrity. All you GOP people, he is a registered republican too!

ditka4governor's Gallery at Zazzle

Chicago Tribune reporting:

Embarrassed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's fumbling performance, a Burr Ridge man has begun an Internet campaign aimed at yanking the governor from office and replacing him with former Bears coach Mike Ditka.

And, no, the aforementioned man's name is not Bill Swerski. But he's most definitely a superfan.

Shaun Radecki, 27, launched dagovernor.com to persuade Iron Mike to lead Illinois. The site, which sells T-shirts, mugs and various tchotchkes urging Ditka to run, lays out its platform in language that only a Bears fan can appreciate.

"We da people of Illinois are sick and.....

Gossip Columist Story About Rham Emanuel Turns out to be False.......What a Surprise!

Why do we as intelligent Americans buy into every story we hear, especially if it is something we were hoping to hear? You know what I'm talking about, Palin's baby not really hers, John Mccain calling his wife a cunt, Obama was sworn in on the Koran, and Rham spoke to Blago 21 times and it's all on tape.

Rahm only spoke to Blago once, and it didn't focus on the Senate seat. He spoke to Blago's Chief of Staff four times, and in those conversations did nothing improper. Watch the video as Sean Hannity says 21 hours. Funny how we believe anything.

Rush Limbaugh Goes off the Deep-End.......Again

I'm use to my ol' buddy Rush Limbaugh talking crazy, but this one takes the cake. On his radio program he talks about how Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)and the democrats possibly might have purposely started the economic crisis to get Barack Obama elected.

So let me get this straight, the entire democratic senate got together within the two years they had power and conspired together to destroy the nation's economy cause hundreds of thousands of jobs to be loss, banks to collapse, business' to close and of course cause the stock market to go into a downward spiral, just to get Obama elected, that's a good one:

NY Times Gets Faked Out With Phony Letter

NEW YORK—The New York Times admitted Monday it published a fake letter purportedly from the mayor of Paris criticizing Caroline Kennedy's bid for a U.S. Senate seat as "appalling" and "not very democratic."

In a note posted Monday on its Web site, the Times said the letter signed by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe was a fake and should not have been published because it violated the paper's standards and procedures for publishing signed letters.

"We have already expressed our regrets to Mr. Delanoe's office and we are now doing the same to you, our readers," the Times said.

News of the hoax was first reported by France-Amerique, which published its story on its Web site Monday.

Condoleezza Rice "Queen of the Middle East"

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer

(AP) WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush's foreign policies may be unpopular in the Middle East, but Arab leaders showered his top diplomat with jewelry worth far more than a quarter of a million dollars last year.

While Bush himself didn't fare nearly as well, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raked in at least $316,000 in gem-encrusted baubles from the kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia alone, making her one of top recipients among U.S. officials of gifts from foreign heads of state and government and their aides in 2007.

In January, Jordan's King Abdullah II gave Rice an emerald and diamond necklace, ring, bracelet and earrings estimated to be worth $147,000, according to the State Department's annual inventory of such items released Monday just in time for Christmas.

The king and his wife, Queen Rania, also gave Rice a less expensive necklace and earrings along with a jewelry box valued at $4,630, the document shows.

Not to be outdone, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia presented Rice with a ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings, bracelet and ring worth $165,000 in July. The inventory also includes a $170,000 flower petal motif necklace the Saudi monarch gave to Rice in 2005, which the department says was not previously disclosed.

From the same Arab leaders, Bush received just over $100,000 in gifts in 2007, the list shows.

Other gifts include an $85,000 sapphire and diamond jewelry set and $10,000 piece of artwork depicting a desert scene of bedouins, camels and a tent made of gold given to first lady Laura Bush by Saudi King Abdullah.

Unfortunately for the Bushes, Rice and other recipients, they won't be able to enjoy the gifts as they have been turned over to the General Services Administration and government archives in accordance with federal law, which bars officials from accepting personal presents in almost all circumstances.

The inventory, prepared by State Department's Office of Protocol, catalogues all gifts given to top administration officials. The presents range from the modest — a $6 assortment of nuts and dried fruit from the Dalai Lama to Mrs. Bush — to the extravagant — Rice's jewelry — and the odd — a $570 Brush Cutter with "comfort grip handles" from the Swedish prime minister to the president, presumably for use at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Bush got a $150 bronze platypus paperweight from an Australian official. The prime minister of Singapore gave Bush $450 worth of fitness equipment, including a "uSurf Wave Action Exerciser" and an "iGallop Core and Abs Exerciser," according to the documents, which offer a window into the tastes of foreign leaders.

The wife of Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe appears to be an animal lover, having given Laura Bush two red, white and blue hand-embroidered pillows with American flag designs and the names and images of first dogs Barney and Miss Beazley worth $100 last year.

She also gave the first lady a $700 porcelain Limoges box with the two pets painted on it and a stuffed black fleece Scotty toy valued at $100, the inventory shows.

Some gifts reflect the recipient's specialty. Gen. Peter Pace, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff received two machine guns — one mounted — worth $1,300 from his Colombian and Russian counterparts, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates got a $3,200 decorative Arab knife from a Bahraini official and a steel dagger valued at $345 from the Jordanian king.

The source of gifts to U.S. intelligence officials is classified, but CIA chief Michael Hayden took in $8,000 in gifts, including a sword, fountain pen and silk rug, in 2007.

Watch: The Day in 100 Seconds

Palin Awarded "Conservative of the Year Award"

Sarah Palin wins HUMAN EVENTS’ prestigious “Conservative of the Year” Award for 2008 for her genius at annoying all the right people. The last woman to get liberals this hot under the collar would have been … let's see now … oh, yeah: Me! (Snip)She referred to the “57 states” that make up the U.S.

Read Article by that annoying Ann Coulter....

GOP Consultant's Plane Sabotaged?

Raw Story Reporting:

The Republican consultant accused of involvement in alleged vote-rigging in Ohio in 2004 was warned that his plane might be sabotaged before his death in a crash Friday night, according to a Cleveland CBS affiliate.

45-year-old Republican operative Michael Connell was killed when his single-passenger plane crashed Friday into a home in a suburb of Akron, Ohio. The consultant was called to testify in federal court regarding a lawsuit alleging that he took part in tampering with Ohio's voting results in the 2004 election.

Without getting into specific details, 19 Action News reporter Blake Renault reported Sunday evening that 45-year-old Republican operative and experienced pilot had been warned not to fly his plane in the days before the crash.

"Connell...was apparently told by a close friend not to fly his plane because his plane might be sabotaged," Renault said. "And twice in the last two months Connell, who is an experienced pilot, cancelled two flights because of suspicious problems with his plane."

Fox News Continues to Accuse the Mainstream of Holding Obama Youth Photos

Key Figure in Blago Scandal Seeking Immunity

A key figure in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged scheme to sell a U.S. Senate seat has sought immunity from federal authorities in return for his cooperation in their ongoing probe, the Tribune has learned.

Raghuveer P. Nayak, an Oak Brook businessman and political fundraiser, is the unnamed "Individual D" who prosecutors say was being squeezed by the governor for campaign cash in return for appointing U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, sources said.

Investigators appeared at Nayak's Oak Brook home the morning the FBI arrested Blagojevich, the sources said. Nayak was among a number of people connected to the case who were contacted by federal agents that day.

Nayak has not been.....

Is Caroline Kennedy Being "Palinized"?

That seems to be the new the term for a politician running for office that now has little or no political experience. Sarah Palin has made being new to the world of politics scene famous. Her mediocre rise through politics made her a target for the media and her critics.

With as much charisma and determination that Sarah Palin had on the campaign trail, it was not enough for many Americans to give her the co-pilot chair for the most powerful country that is the United States.

In comes Caroline Kennedy. When I first her heard name being mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Hilary Clinton I honestly thought it was just a rumor drummed up by the media. When she actually came forward I had a look of confusion on my face. Why?

Her resume reads something like someone applying to work for a newspaper editor or working in a law office.

For years now in politics, who your father was has granted individuals positions that they would normally not receive. Carolin Kennedy also is one who has been granted access to a world most of us would have to work three times as hard to enter.

Experience and knowledge go a long way, and you have to have one or the other to make in that jungle called politics.

Toyota Makes History- First Time Operating Loss

It's funny how the Congressman and Senators in the South were so against the auto bailout. They were touting how the foreign carmakers were not struggling and continuing to be profitable. Oh how a few weeks can make a difference. Something never before seen from Toyota in it's history, they posted they first loss due to the economy:

The problems the world economy is about to face in 2009 were put in sharp relief earlier by the warning from Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, that it will likely post an operating loss of 150 billion yen ($1.66 billion) in the year to end-March, the first such loss since Toyota began reporting such numbers in 1941.

In the markets, Toyota is perceived as one of the world's best manufacturers — and if it is experiencing times as bad as it says, then others will likely fare even worse, the reasoning goes.

Gay Christmas Features Mary in Drag

By ARTHUR MAX
Associated Press Writer

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Amsterdam hosted a Christmas celebration for its gay community on Sunday featuring a nativity tableau with a male Mary in drag that church organizations denounced as an affront to traditional values.

Organizers said the event was meant to raise Amsterdam's profile as a gay capital at a time when homosexuals feel threatened.

Christians for Truth, an independent religious group, had asked the city council to cancel the "Pink Christmas," event, saying it made a mockery of Christian tenets. The city did not comment.

A male entertainer known as Wendy Mills posed as Mary in a blonde wig and high-heeled black boots and holding a plastic doll. Another man played Joseph in black leather trunks and a silver shawl.

The five-person manger scene was staged off the street, in the courtyard of a nightclub. Visitors were invited to be photographed with the group. The first was 3-month-old Lily Pink Albers, Mills' niece.

"By portraying Joseph and Mary as homosexuals, a twisted human fantasy is being added to the history of the Bible," Christians for Truth said in a statement ahead of the event.

A few dozen visitors wandered through the 100-yard (meter) long Pink Market past stalls selling leather goods and Christmas cards with gay themes on a downtown street known for its gay nightlife and popular restaurants.

Frank van Dalen, chairman of Pro Gay, which organized the event, said gays were not satisfied with being tolerated, but wanted to be "socially accepted as an indivisible part of society."

He said the Amsterdam city council sponsored the euro15,000 ($21,000) event, which he hoped would become a regular event, like the annual floating summertime gay pride parade through the city's canals that attracts tens of thousands of visitors.

"Our objective is not to be offensive. This is about visibility," he said.

Van Dalen pointed to a report last month that said homophobia was an ingrained problem in Amsterdam, despite the city's freewheeling reputation.

The study by the University of Amsterdam reported 67 violent attacks against gays in 2007, which police said was about average.

Van Dalen said gays were feeling increasingly uncomfortable in public in recent years, and that they perceived Dutch society as more assertive about "classical values."

Obama Team: Rham Only Talked to Blago Once

George Stephanopoulos reported this morning that his sources are telling him that Rahm Emanuel had only one phone conversation with Blagojevich.

The contact, described as a "pro-forma" courtesy call, came as Emanuel was named Chief of Staff for Obama. Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel's Congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a "passing reference" to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources. No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed.

Pastor Rick Warren Defends Invite to Inauguration

By CHRISTINA HOAG
Associated Press Writer

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Under fire for opposing gay marriage, influential evangelical pastor Rick Warren said Saturday that he loves Muslims, people of other religions, Republicans and Democrats, and he also loves "gays and straights."

The 54-year-old pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Southern California told the crowd of 500 that it's unrealistic to expect everyone to agree on everything all the time.

"You don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand," said Warren.

Warren also defended President-elect Barack Obama's invitation that he give the invocation at the Jan. 20 inauguration in the keynote speech he delivered at the Muslim Public Affairs Council's annual convention in Long Beach.

Obama's choice of Warren earlier this week sparked outcry from gay rights and other liberal groups, who said choosing such an outspoken opponent of gay marriage was tantamount to endorsing bigotry.

"Three years ago I took enormous heat for inviting Barack Obama to my church because some of his views don't agree (with mine)," he said. "Now he's invited me."

Warren said he prays for the same things for Obama that he prays for himself: integrity, humility and generosity.

Obama defended his choice on Thursday, saying that he has also invited Joseph Lowery, a Methodist minister and civil rights leader who supports same-sex marriage and gay rights, to deliver the benediction.

"During the course of the entire inaugural festivities, there are going to be a wide range of viewpoints that are presented. And that's how it should be, because that's what America's about. That's part of the magic of this country ... we are diverse and noisy and opinionated," Obama said.

Toward the end of his speech on Saturday, Warren also talked about singer Melissa Ethridge, who performed earlier in the evening. Warren said the two had a "wonderful conversation" and that he is a huge fan who has all her albums.

The openly lesbian gay rights activist even agreed to sign her Christmas album for him, he said.

Warren gained a prominent role in the presidential election in August when he hosted the Civil Forum on the Presidency, a two-hour televised show in which he interviewed Obama and his Republican opponent John McCain for an hour each on faith and moral issues.

Warren has won kudos from some liberal quarters by focusing less on traditional conservative issues such as abortion and gay rights, and instead calling on evangelical leaders to devote more attention to eradicating poverty, fighting AIDS in Africa, expanding educational opportunity for the marginalized, and global warming.

But the preacher ignited the ire of many liberals when he publicly supported California's Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to ban gay marriage.

Although Warren has said that he has nothing personally against gays, he has condemned same-sex marriage.

"I have many gay friends. I've eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Saddleback Church," he said in a recent interview with BeliefNet. But later in the interview, he compared the "redefinition of marriage" to include gay marriage to legitimizing incest, child abuse, and polygamy.

Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980 in Lake Forest, about 65 miles southeast of Los Angeles. He is the author of numerous Christian books, including "The Purpose Driven Church," which has sold more than 20 million copies.