It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself. -- Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

In What May Be Final Turn In GOP Roller Coaster, Will Santorum Get Chance At Ascent? | Fox News



From Fox News:


  • With 45 percent of Iowa Republican voters undecided and a roller-coaster ride about to come to a screeching stop next Tuesday with the GOP caucuses, it may be Rick Santorum's turn to take the final ascent and surprise the political class by ... doing better than expected?
  • Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, has been touted as the sleeper candidate by none other than 2008 Iowa caucuses winner Mike Huckabee. He has relentlessly campaigned in the state, hitting all 99 counties and moving his family out there. He has held 350 campaign events in the past year.


Click the link below to read all of the article:

In What May Be Final Turn In GOP Roller Coaster, Will Santorum Get Chance At Ascent? | Fox News

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Student Sues School District Over Punishment For Expressing His Religious Views Against Homosexuality | CNSnews.com



The following excerpts are from the report on cnsnews.com, "Student Sues School District Over Punishment For Expressing His Religious Views Against Homosexuality" by Philip Shepherd.

  • According to the suit, McDowell asked the student, Daniel Glowacki, a junior at Howell High School at the time of the incident, whether he supported homosexuality. Glowacki responded that his Catholic faith and morals did not accept homosexual behavior and he could not condone the gay lifestyle. Following that answer, McDowell ordered Glowacki to leave the classroom under threat of suspension.
  • The Michigan Education Association, the state teacher’s union, reportedly supported the actions of McDowell, who is head of the school’s teachers union. As word of the incident spread, homosexual activists celebrated McDowell’s actions and reportedly labeled Daniel Glowacki and his family as bigots.
  • As the negative campaign against Daniel Glowacki grew, his mother Sandra Glowacki contacted the Thomas More Law Center and filed the lawsuit.
  • The lawsuit charges that Daniel Glowacki’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and equal protection were violated by the policies and actions of the school district and McDowell. The school and the teacher deprived Glowacki of his “right to freedom of speech in violation of the First Amendment as applied to the states and their political subdivisions under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C. 1983,” states the lawsuit.
  • “By favoring speech that promotes and approves of homosexuality and punishing Plaintiffs’ less favored religious view toward homosexuality, Defendants [school and teacher] have violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” reads the suit.

Click the link below to be taken to cnsnews.com to read the entire article:


Student Sues School District Over Punishment For Expressing His Religious Views Against Homosexuality | CNSnews.com

Manure Makers, Yes; Catholics, No - Terry Jeffrey - Townhall Conservative

Manure Makers, Yes; Catholics, No - Terry Jeffrey - Townhall Conservative

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Some Quotations From Samuel Adams




  • Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.
  • No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.
  • If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.

-- Samuel Adams

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Who is paying for payroll tax cut bill? – USATODAY.com

The following excerpt is from USATODAY:


Who is paying for the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut working its way through Congress? The cost is being dropped in the laps of most people who buy homes or refinance beginning next year.

The typical person who buys a home or refinances starting on Jan. 1 will have to pay roughly $17 more a month for their mortgage, thanks to a fee increase included in the payroll tax cut bill that the Senate passed Saturday.

The legislation provides a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits that would otherwise expire on Jan. 1. It would also delay for two months a cut in Medicare reimbursements for doctors that is scheduled to take effect on New Year's Day. The House is expected to act on the bill early next week. Two more months of the Social Security tax cut amounts to a savings of about $165 for a worker making $50,000 a year.


Click below to read more:

Who is paying for payroll tax cut bill? – USATODAY.com

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Do You Know if Your Food or Vaccines Contain Aborted Cells? | LifeNews.com

  • "Little upsets pro-life people more than learning that things they consider innocent are actually tainted with the shedding of innocent blood. This long list of guilt-ridden products includes childhood vaccines, wrinkle creams and even your favorite soft drinks and chewing gum."


Click below to read the entire article from LifeNews.com, and also download the PDF of Fetal Cell Products there:


Do You Know if Your Food or Vaccines Contain Aborted Cells? | LifeNews.com

Tim Tebow criticism says a lot about us ... and it's not good - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Tim Tebow criticism says a lot about us ... and it's not good - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Mob Attacks On Iraqi Christian Businesses Raise Security Concerns | Fox News

The following excerpt is from the Fox News story Mob Attacks On Iraqi Christian Businesses Raise Security Concerns":


  • A rash of attacks on Christian-owned businesses in northern Iraq has raised troubling questions about the future safety of the country's shrinking Christian community, particularly as U.S. forces withdraw completely from the nation they've refereed since 2003. 
  • The attacks, which have received little international attention, raged through northern cities following a sermon last Friday by a local mullah. Video purportedly from the riots posted online shows mobs burning and wrecking businesses, which included liquor stores, hotels and hair salons. 


Click the link below to read the entire article:
Mob Attacks On Iraqi Christian Businesses Raise Security Concerns | Fox News

Friday, November 18, 2011

EGYPT Islamist parties take to the street against the military, threaten violence - Asia News

The following excerpt is from the above named article on AsiaNews.it:

  • Thousands of supporters of Islamist parties rallied today in Tahrir Square to protest against excessive power wielded by the military. Led by the Muslim Brotherhood, the demonstration saw pro-democracy parties stay away. Although they too are against the military, they also oppose Islamist parties’ strong-arm tactics. The latter object to plans that would make the military the guardian of ‘constitutional legitimacy’, and thus give them a final say on the 28 November elections. Unless the proposed constitutional change is not shelved, Islamists say they would escalate their campaign. 


  • “The Muslim Brotherhood are provocateurs,” said Fr Rafic Greiche, spokesman of the Egyptian catholic Church. “They are using these demonstrations to flex their muscle vis-à-vis the military and the nation. However, they are also showing their truer, most intransigent face, which they have cloaked so far under a veneer of moderate Islamic political activism. This could play in favour of pro-democracy parties who have Egypt’s interests at heart, and are not just vying for power.”


Click the link below to read the entire article:
EGYPT Islamist parties take to the street against the military, threaten violence - Asia News

Thursday, November 17, 2011

VIETNAM Hanoi : Police ready to use force against Thai Ha Redemptorists - Asia News

The following excerpt is from AsiaNews.it:

  • The Vietnamese government plans to solve by force the dispute over the Redemptorist convent in Thai Ha. Dozens of police agents began to block roads to the site last night. More security forces are expected today. With the move, the government wants to grab the property once and for all in order to build a water treatment plant for the nearby hospital. Parishioners and priests fear an attack like that of 19 September 2008 when police tore down the buildings of the Hanoi nunciature.


Click the link below to read the entire article about the Vietnamese government's attack against the Thai Ha Redemptorists:


VIETNAM Hanoi : Police ready to use force against Thai Ha Redemptorists - Asia News

Friday, November 11, 2011

VIETNAM Vietnamese Catholics praying for the martyrs of today and yesterday - Asia News

This story is from AsiaNews.it. Below is an excerpt:

  • The latest case is the attack against Thái Hà Church on 3 November, when hundreds of police agents and soldiers broke down the church’s main door, tried to pick a quarrel with the vicar and parishioners present and threatened to kill members of the Redemptorist Order. 


Click the link below to read the entire article:


VIETNAM Vietnamese Catholics praying for the martyrs of today and yesterday - Asia News

Monday, November 7, 2011

Santorum Right About Morality and Economy - Star Parker - Townhall Conservative



Townhall.com columnist Star Parker has written an article called "Santorum Right About Morality and Economy". Below are some excerpts from the article (the emphases are mine):

  • That’s not to say that the other conservative candidates disagree with Santorum’s take on these issues – traditional values, abortion, marriage – but Santorum has been the only one to insist that you cannot consider the economy independent of the way the individual human beings that make up the economy behave.

  • Even Polk County Republican Chairman Kevin McLaughlin in Iowa takes issue with Santorum’s insistence on pushing the social agenda.

  • McLaughlin says – and he’s far from alone on this – that candidates at this time should just be talking about the “stuff that is putting money in people’s pockets.”

  • Santorum insists that there is a “moral component” to economic problems and that claims that one can be discussed meaningfully without the other are bogus.


Click the link below to be taken to Townhall.com to read the entire article:


Santorum Right About Morality and Economy - StarParker - Townhall Conservative

Friday, October 28, 2011

Christians Need Not Apply - David Cortman - Townhall Conservative

Below is an excerpt from Townhall.com columnist David Cortman's article "Christians Need Not Apply":
  • How exactly do we move from a nation whose founders and first public servants included many Christians, to a place where Christians are no longer fit to participate in public life? Because if the “Freedom From Religion Foundation” (FFRF) has their way, that’s exactly what our country will look like.

To read the entire article please click the link below:

Christians Need Not Apply - David Cortman - Townhall Conservative

Monday, October 24, 2011

HOLY SEE CALLS FOR REFORM OF GLOBAL FINANCE



VATICAN CITY, 24 OCT 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present a note from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace entitled: "Towards reforming the international financial and monetary systems in the context of a global public authority". The document was presented by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson and Bishop Mario Toso S.D.B., respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and by Leonardo Becchetti, professor of political economy at the Roman University of "Tor Vergata".

  Cardinal Turkson mentioned the sixth summit meeting of heads of government of the G-20 nations, due to take place in Cannes, France, on 3 and 4 November to discuss issues related to finance and the global economy. "The Holy Father and the Holy See", he said, "are following these matters with particular concern, constantly calling not just for 'joint action', but for 'examination of every facet of the problem: social, economic, cultural and spiritual'. It is in this spirit of discernment that the Holy See, with the note of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, wishes to make a contribution which might be useful to the deliberations of the G-20 meeting".

  Bishop Toso explained that the aim of the note is "suggest possible paths to follow, in line with the most recent social Magisterium, for the implementation of financial and monetary policies ... that are effective and representative at a global level, and which seek the authentic human development of all individuals and peoples".

  The Church does not wish to enter into the technical issues behind the current economic crisis, but remains within the ambit of her religious and ethical functions. Thus she highlights not just the moral causes of the crisis but, more specifically, the ideological causes. Old ideologies have been replaced by new ones, "neo-liberalist, neo-utilitarian, and technocratic which, by reducing the common good to economic, financial and technical questions, place the future of democratic institutions themselves at risk".

  Bishop Toso spoke of the need to overcome these ideologies by "a new global humanism, open to transcendence, ... an ethic of brotherhood and solidarity, and by subordinating economy and finance to politics, which is responsible for the common good".

  The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, drawing from the social Magisterium of recent Pontiffs particularly John XXIII and Benedict XVI, proposes "that globalisation be regulated by a global public authority", Bishop Toso explained. The council also suggests the reform of current international institutions. They "must become an expression of free and shared agreement among peoples; more representative, and with greater levels of participation and legitimacy. ... They must be 'super partes', at the service of the universal good, capable of offering effective guidance and, at the same time, of allowing each country to express and pursue its own common good, according to the principle of subsidiarity and in the context of the global common good. Only in this way will international institutions manage to favour effective monetary and financial systems; in other words, free and stable markets regulated by an appropriate legal framework and working towards sustainable development and social progress for everyone".

  This global authority "must see its power to lead and to deicide - and to impose penalties on the basis of the law - as a form of service to the various members States, a way of ensuring that they possess efficient markets".

  To this end, Bishop Toso concluded, "it is necessary to restore the primacy of ethics and, therewith, the primacy of politics, which is responsible for the common good".
CON-IP/                                                                                           VIS 20111024 (610)

Cult of Global Warming Is Losing Influence - Michael Barone - Townhall Conservative

TownHall.com colunist Michael Barone has written an article entitled “Cult of Global Warming Is Losing Influence”. Below are some excerpts from that article:

  • All the trappings of religion are there. Original sin: Mankind is responsible for these prophesied disasters, especially those slobs who live on suburban cul-de-sacs and drive their SUVs to strip malls and tacky chain restaurants.
  • The need for atonement and repentance: We must impose a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system, which will increase the cost of everything and stunt economic growth.
  • Ritual, from the annual Earth Day to weekly recycling.
  • Indulgences, like those Martin Luther railed against: private jet-fliers like Al Gore and sitcom heiress Laurie David can buy carbon offsets to compensate for their carbon-emitting sins.


Click the link below to read the entire article:


Cult of Global Warming Is Losing Influence - Michael Barone - Townhall Conservative

Friday, October 21, 2011

Why Do the Members of the Secular Media Hate Bible-believing Christians - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

The following excerpts are from an article by TownHall columnist Michael Youssef entitled “Why Do the Members of the Secular Media Hate Bible-believing Christians”. Read the excerpts below:
  • Christians speak the truth about God’s best for humanity as it applies to morality, laws and governing principles, but the secular media views these truths as Hell. Truth always feels like Hell to those who reject, deny, or hate the truth.
  • When Bible-believing Christians share that there is only one true God who is lovingly inviting people to believe in Him and receive His redemption, or face His coming judgment, that is Hell to those who view themselves as their own gods—masters of their own fates. Many of these self-made gods control our media.
Click the link below to read the entire article at TownHall.com:


Why Do the Members of the Secular Media Hate Bible-believing Christians - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

Monday, October 17, 2011

Remarks by the President on the American Jobs Act | THE MATT MITTAN SHOW - News Radio 570am WWNC

Below are a couple of excerpts from this condescending speech by President Obama in Asheville, N.C. today. Does he think we are all third graders? Anyway, the excerpts follow:

  • Now, as you may have noticed, I came here on a plane. It’s a pretty nice plane. But I’m leaving on a bus. (Applause.) The bus is pretty hard to miss. And over the next few days, we are going to take this bus through North Carolina and Virginia and I’m going to get a chance to hear from folks about how they’re doing, what direction they want to take the country in.

  • And I’ll be doing a little bit of talking, but mostly I’m going to do a whole lot of listening — because there doesn’t seem to be much listening going on in Washington these days. (Applause.) People don’t seem to be paying much attention to the folks who sent them there in the first place. And that’s a shame. Because once you escape the partisanship and the political point-scoring in Washington, once you start really start listening to the American people, it’s pretty clear what our country and your leaders should be spending their time on.



Click the link below to read the rest of these dumbed down remarks:

Remarks by the President on the American Jobs Act | THE MATT MITTAN SHOW - News Radio 570am WWNC

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Romney: Same-Sex Adoption ‘Should Be Assessed on a State-by-State Basis’ | CNSnews.com

The media tells us that this is the leading candidate. Or at least he is the media's choice. I do believe he is the Republican establishment's choice because they reject true conservatism, and fear the conservative voice. That is why I support Rick Santorum, the only true social and fiscal conservative.

Romney: Same-Sex Adoption ‘Should Be Assessed on a State-by-State Basis’ | CNSnews.com

A History Lesson For Today: Martin Van Buren And The Panic of 1837


Note: This originally appeared in 2009 on an older blog of mine. I thought it worth sharing here.


Since we are going through an “economic downturn” (depression/recession) as the pundits like to call it, I thought it might be interesting to look at another period of “economic instability” from a time other than the Great Depression, and the President who was in office at the time. I thought President Van Buren's comments regarding governments role in economic crises somewhat appropriate for today, especially considering the Congressional penchant for “bailouts”.



Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States serving from 1837-1841. He was the first American citizen to be elected President who had not been a British subject. He had served as the Vice-President during Andrew Jackson's second term as President from 1833-1837. He was nicknamed “the Magician” because of his behind the scenes political maneuvers. However, unlike Jackson, he was never able to win popular support for himself or his policies.

In his inaugural address Van Buren had assured the nation that he would attempt to continue to follow the policies and examples set forth by Jackson, and as evidence of his intent to play the role of caretaker, he reappointed all the member's of Jackson's cabinet. In his address Van Buren had described the United States as being “an aggregate of human prosperity not elsewhere to be found”. Then, the United States first major economic depression, the Panic of 1837, hit the country, when the banks suspended the payment of gold or silver for paper money. Van Buren got the blame for it, even though it occurred only two months after he took office, and effectively killed any chances of his ever achieving popularity.

When this depression hit, Van Buren called a special session of Congress in September 1837, asking for the establishment of an independent treasury system (so the government could retain control of collected tax money instead of depositing it in private banks), and proposed the government begin issuing paper money in the form of treasury notes. Van Buren warned that it was not within the constitutional rights of Congress to give “specific aid to the citizen to relieve embarrassments arising from losses by revulsions in commerce and credit.

Further he said: “All communities are apt to look to government for too much. Even in our own country, where its powers and duties are so strictly limited, we are prone to do so, especially at periods of sudden embarrassment and distress. But this ought not to be. The framers of our excellent Constitution and the people who approved it with calm and sagacious deliberation acted at the time on a sounder principle. They wisely judged that the less government interferes with private pursuits the better for the general prosperity. It is not its legitimate object to make men rich or to repair by direct grants of money or legislation in favor of particular pursuits losses not incurred in public service. This would be substantially to use the property of some for the benefit of others.

Congress was slow in approving Van Buren's suggestions, with the independent treasury system not coming into effect until July 1840. Prosperity temporarily returned in the winter of 1839-1840, but bad times recurred at the end of the Van Buren administration, continuing until 1845.

Van Buren was unanimously chosen by the Democratic Convention to run for a second term in the election of 1840. Delegates were unable to decide on a vice-presidential candidate leaving the choice up to the electors, thus leaving Van Buren without a popular running mate to bring him support, and all the forces that opposed him united behind the Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison.

Whigs called the President “Martin Van Ruin” because of the nationwide depression. They portrayed him as an aristocrat who drank his wine from a silver cooler and ate his meals from gold plates, and criticized him for using public money to install a hot water tank in the White House to warm his bath water. They featured Harrison as a man of the people who could live in a log cabin and be content with hard cider. The facts were that Harrison was born in a mansion as a Virginia aristocrat, while Van Buren was the self-made son of a tavern keeper. The voters believed the Whig version, and Van Buren was defeated.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Obama Plan: Teacher Jobs One Year Only

This article by Carolina Journal reporter Don Carrington, points out how the Obama Jobs Plan only provides funding to states, such as North Carolina, "to save the jobs of up to 13,000 North Carolina teachers, cops, and firefighters" for one year.

Below are some excerpts from the article, If you go to the Carolina Journal page to read the entire article, be sure to scroll down the page for the chart that has a breakdown of how the money would be distributed by state.

The excerpts follow:

  • A White House press release describing the benefits to North Carolina was more specific. “These funds would help states and localities avoid and reverse layoffs now, and will provide $900,300,000 in funds to North Carolina to support 13,400 educator and first responder jobs.”
  • As in the president’s comments, the White House press release does not specify how long the jobs would be funded. Dividing $900,300,000 by 13,400 yields $67,186.57 to cover salary, benefits, and any other costs associated with providing each job in North Carolina. Since the average annual cost of teacher pay and benefits in the state is $56,000, funding in Obama’s jobs bill would cover a little more than one year of compensation.
  • Sections 204-209 of the bill include provisions requiring states to “meet the requirements” of the law for an additional two years. A White House spokeswoman told Carolina Journal that the bill includes no unfunded mandates. But unless North Carolina picks up the funding for these positions after the first year, it’s unclear how the teachers and first responders supported by it would be paid.


Click the link below to read the entire article:

Obama Plan: Teacher Jobs One Year Only

Sunday, October 2, 2011

The ACLU – A Change of Heart or Cowardice - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

  • The ANC [American News Commentary] reported in its September 21, 2011 issue that the ACLU is defending the right of Muslims to exercise prayer in public schools in San Diego… Really?
  • Is that a change of heart or the expression of a cowardly and terrified heart? It is most likely the latter. Let me explain.

Click the link below to read the entire article by Michael Youssef, Townhall columnist:
The ACLU – A Change of Heart or Cowardice - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

Saturday, October 1, 2011

New Bishops' Committee Responds to Religious Liberty Threats | Daily News | NCRegister.com

 The following excerpt is from the article appearing on the NCRegister.com Daily News:

“The bishops have concluded that religious liberty is under assault from a variety of fronts in the U.S. — at the federal, state and cultural level,” said Bishop Lori, in an interview following the announcement today. “They have identified this issue as an important priority, and I am humbled and happy to help lead this effort.”

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the bishops conference, signaled that the new subcommittee would be one of several initiatives designed to strengthen the conference’s response and bring together a broad cross-section of churches and legal scholars to oppose attacks on the First Amendment.

“[T]he establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee is one element of what I expect to be a new moment in the history of our conference,” stated Archbishop Dolan in a letter to conference members. “Never before have we faced this kind of challenge to our ability to engage in the public square as people of faith and as a service provider. If we do not act now, the consequence will be grave.”

Click the link below to read the entire article:

New Bishops' Committee Responds to Religious Liberty Threats | Daily News | NCRegister.com

Friday, September 30, 2011

LACK OF ETHICS IN ECONOMIC STRUCTURES WORSENS THE CRISIS

VATICAN CITY, 30 SEP 2011 (VIS) - On 27 September Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States, addressed the sixty-sixth General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, focusing his remarks on the principal challenges facing the international community: humanitarian emergencies, lack of religious freedom and the economic crisis.

  On the first of these subjects, Archbishop Mamberti recalled how "in certain parts of the world, such as the Horn of Africa, we find ourselves facing grave and dramatic humanitarian crises which cause millions of people, mostly women and children, to flee there homes, and many have fallen victim to drought, hunger and malnutrition. The Holy See wishes to renew its appeal to the international community, an appeal repeatedly voiced by Benedict XVI, to increase and support humanitarian policies in those areas".

Christians are the most persecuted religious group

  The secretary for Relations with States then went on to consider the question of respect for religious freedom, which he described as "the fundamental way to build peace, to ensure recognition of human dignity and to protect the rights of man".

  "Unfortunately, many situations exist in which the right to religious freedom is denied to followers of various religions. At the same time we are seeing an increase in religiously motivated intolerance, and we note that Christians are currently the religious group suffering the greatest number of persecutions on account of their faith. Lack of respect for religious freedom is a threat to security and peace", the archbishop said.

  The solution to the problem lies "in a shared commitment to recognise and promote the religious freedom of each individual and each community". This requires "sincere inter-religious dialogue, promoted and practised by representatives of the various religious and supported by governments and international institutions".

  Archbishop Mamberti then turned his attention to the global economic crisis. "We know that a fundamental part of the current plight is a lack of ethics in economic structures", he said. "The economy cannot function only through market self-regulation, and even less so through agreements limited to balancing the interests of the most powerful groups. It needs an ethical raison d'etre to ensure that it works for mankind. The idea of producing goods and services ... without seeking to do good - in other words, without ethics - has shown itself to be an illusion, either ingenuous or cynical, but always with fatal results. All economic decisions have moral consequences. The economy needs ethics ... focused on the person and capable of offering prospects to the new generations".

  "The Holy See has repeatedly highlighted the need for fresh and profound reflection on the significance and objectives of economic activity, and for a clear-sighted revision of global financial and commercial structures in order to correct their dysfunctions and distortions. This revision of international economic rules must take place within the framework of a global model for development".

  Such a model has to take account of the notion of "family of nations" so as to pay greater attention to the needs of poorer peoples. "By its nature a family is a community founded on interdependence and mutual trust. ... Its full development is based not on the supremacy of the strongest, but on care for the weakest, ... and its responsibility extends to future generations". Thus, Archbishop Mamberti concluded, "development strategies must be created which focus on people, favouring solidarity and responsibility towards everyone, including future generations".

  On 26 September, the day prior to addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Archbishop Mamberti received a doctorate "honoris causa" from St. John's University in New York.
DELSS/                                                                                           VIS 20110930 (610)


You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Senator Santorum comments on potential Republican primary election calendar changes

Senator Santorum comments on potential Republican primary election calendar changes

Suspend Elections | Beverly Perdue | Audio | The Daily Caller

North Carolina Democratic Governor Beverly Perdue continues to make the news regarding her bizarre statement that Congressional elections should not be held but consideration given to "suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover."

Click the link below to read this article from "The Daily Caller", complete with audio. Doesn't sound like a "joke" or "hyperbole" to me.

Suspend Elections | Beverly Perdue | Audio | The Daily Caller

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Perdue jokes about suspending Congressional elections for two years | newsobserver.com projects

 
The following are some excerpts from “The Raleigh News & Observer” in regard to comments made by North Carolina Democratic Governor Bev Perdue :

Speaking to a Cary rotary club today, N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue suggested suspending Congressional elections for two years so that Congress can focus on economic recovery and not the next election.

"I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that," Perdue said. "You want people who don't worry about the next election."

The comment -- which came during a discussion of the economy -- perked more than a few ears. It's unclear whether Perdue, a Democrat, is serious -- but her tone was level and she asked others to support her on the idea.

Later Tuesday afternoon, Perdue's office clarified the remarks: "Come on," said spokeswoman Chris Mackey in a statement. "Gov. Perdue was obviously using hyperbole to highlight what we can all agree is a serious problem: Washington politicians who focus on their own election instead of what’s best for the people they serve."

Click the link below to read the entire piece:
 Perdue jokes about suspending Congressional elections for two years | newsobserver.com projects

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Time to Act: Defending Israel and Doing What is Just - Adam Hasner - Townhall Conservative

 The following are excerpts from Adam Hasner's article, "A Time to Act: Defending Israel and Doing What is Just". The emphases are mine.
  • For decades, the world knew America would stand beside its allies.
  • In World Wars, and Cold Wars, in good times and bad, an alliance with America meant that even at the cost of blood and treasure, our allies could count on this nation to honor its commitmentsNow, President Obama has again put that hard-won reputation at risk by failing to fight a vote in the United Nations that threatens the very existence of Israel, our most faithful ally in the region and the one nation in the Middle East that shares our values.
  • If America is truly Israel’s greatest ally, we should not be asking it to put its citizens and future at risk by forcing the establishment of a hostile Palestinian state as the only option. Israel is vital to America’s strategic interests and we should be fighting to defend its sovereignty and security, and immediately move to slash funding to the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations.

Click the link below to read the entire article:

A Time to Act: Defending Israel and Doing What is Just - Adam Hasner - Townhall Conservative

If Israel Disappears - Cal Thomas - Townhall Conservative

 The following are a couple of excerpts from Cal Thomas' article "If Israel Disappears":

  • Israel -- like the Jewish people for centuries -- has become the fall guy for people who prefer their anti-Semitism cloaked in diplomatic niceties. The Palestinians could have peace any time they wish and probably a state, too, if they acknowledged Israel's right to exist and practiced verbal, religious and military disarmament. One has a right to question the veracity of a people who claim they want peace, while remaining active in ideological, theological and military warfare aimed at its publicly stated objective: the eradication of the Jewish state.

    The UN can't handle the truth and few member states will like hearing it. The blood of the Jewish people will be on their hands if they continue to empower individuals and nations whose goal is to create Holocaust II and a "Palestine" without Jews.
 Click the link below to read the entire article:

If Israel Disappears - Cal Thomas - Townhall Conservative

Sunday, September 18, 2011

No Worries Mate! Hamas is in Charge - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

The following excerpt is from the article. Please click the link below the excerpt to read the article in its entirety.

  • It is a well-known secret that since President Mubarak was ousted in February 2011, Egypt has become a bastion for Hamas – indeed the center of Hamas’ power shifted from Damascus to Cairo on that day. Having had a clandestine – and sometimes not so clandestine – alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood for years, Hamas operatives and leadership immediately began to move into the Egyptian heartland. Sinai has now become a center of operation for several Islamic groups from Al Qaida to Jamaat-e-Islami. Now that the Gaza/Sinai border has become very porous, Hamas is calling the shots inside Egypt.

No Worries Mate! Hamas is in Charge - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

Monday, September 5, 2011

Vallely: Iran Goal EMPs on US Coastal Cities in Reach - Bob Beauprez - Townhall Finance

Vallely: Iran Goal EMPs on US Coastal Cities in Reach - Bob Beauprez - Townhall Finance

From this article:

  • The phrase “increasingly concerned” has not appeared in previous reports discussing Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons work and reflects the frustration felt by IAEA chief Yukiya Amano over the lack of progress in his investigations. His report said that choice of language is due to the “possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear related activities” linked to weapons work. In particular, said the report, the agency continues to receive new information about “activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”

Electromagnetic pulse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Electromagnetic pulse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  •  In July 1962, a 1.44 megaton (6.0 PJ) United States nuclear test in space, 400 kilometres (250 mi) above the mid-Pacific Ocean, called the Starfish Prime test, demonstrated to nuclear scientists that the magnitude and effects of a high altitude nuclear explosion were much larger than had been previously calculated. Starfish Prime also made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii, about 1,445 kilometres (898 mi) away from the detonation point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar alarms and damaging a telephone company microwave link.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Religion A Hot Issue In 2012 GOP Race | FoxNews.com


  • Voters have started pushing for specifics because they no longer consider belief separate from action and faith unrelated to policymaking, said Kathleen Flake, who specializes in American religious history at Vanderbilt University. The nation's Catholic bishops, more vocal than ever on the duty of Catholic lawmakers to follow church teaching, underscored that way of thinking. Bishops have said repeatedly that a true Catholic cannot support any policy that allows abortion.
  • "The voting public no longer believes, as they did as late as the 1950s, that religion was about what you thought and not what you did," Flake said.
Click the link below to read the entire article:

Religion A Hot Issue In 2012 GOP Race | FoxNews.com

Friday, September 2, 2011

AP Interview: On 9/11, Cardinal Consoles A City | FoxNews.com



  • "He noticed that an intern nearby was trembling and asked what was wrong. The physician said his father worked on the 102nd floor of the north tower, so the cardinal suggested the two go into a side room and talk. The young man declined. "He said, 'I am a doctor. The injured are coming. This is my place,'" Egan recalled. A couple of months later, Egan would recount this story to Pope John Paul II, who would send a check to the young physician to help cover his medical school costs."


Click below to read more:


AP Interview: On 9/11, Cardinal Consoles A City | FoxNews.com

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Atheist Brokeback Mountain Movie Bombs! | Blogs | NCRegister.com

Atheist Brokeback Mountain Movie Bombs! | Blogs | NCRegister.com


The director Matthew Chapman explicitly labeled it “the first overtly pro-atheist movie.”

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/matthew-archbold/atheist-brokeback-mountain-movie-bombs/#ixzz1Wa1roWsV

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Catholic mass draws protests

Catholic mass draws protests

  • "UNM’s Catholic student group, The Aquinas Newman Center, planned the mass to “kick off” the school year, the Center’s director of Campus Ministry Brother Gabriel Dault said.
  • Student and CNM professor Peter Lundman wrote a letter to New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, the UNM Board of Regents, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and others asking them to put a stop to the event."

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Federal Subsidies to Solar Up 626%, Subsidies to Wind Up 946% | CNSnews.com

And here is where some more of your tax dollars went....:

  • Direct federal subsidies to the solar industry rose from $179 million (in 2007) to $1.13 billion (in 2010). That represents an increase of 626 percent.
  • For the wind industry, it received $476 million in direct subsidies in 2007 and got $4.98 billion in 2010. That translates into an increase of 946 percent.

Read more by clicking below:

Federal Subsidies to Solar Up 626%, Subsidies to Wind Up 946% | CNSnews.com

U.S. Government Loaning $500M for Solar Power Projects—In India | CNSnews.com

U.S. Government Loaning $500M for Solar Power Projects—In India | CNSnews.com

Monday, August 15, 2011

The Separation of Gay Church and State - Mike Adams - Townhall Conservative

 Mike Adamas, the author of this article is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Here is a short excerpt from the story:

  •  On August 8, 2011, our LGBTQIA Office circulated its own list of gay-friendly churches. The taxpayer-funded endorsements went out to the following five churches....

Click below to read more: 
The Separation of Gay Church and State - Mike Adams - Townhall Conservative

SEIU Puts Hood Back in Planned Parenthood - John Ransom - Townhall Finance

  • "Local Planned Parenthood “healthcare” workers in Oregon voted last week to hook up with their partners in crime, the SEIU...."

Click below to read more:

 SEIU Puts Hood Back in Planned Parenthood - John Ransom - Townhall Finance

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

NewsBusted 8/2/11

A little humor is good for what ails you. Watch the video below.

Todays topics are:

--A debt ceiling extension deal has been reached

--Deal allows both parties to pretend to cut spending for years to come

--New data undermining global warming alarmists

--NFL strike has officially ended

--San Francisco's proposed anti-circumcision law has been struck down

--A woman in Monte Carlo crashed her Bentley into a Mercedes, a Ferrari, a Porsche, and an Aston Marton

--Walmart instructed a bikini-clad customer to put on a shirt or leave

--Kim Kardashian is suing Old Navy for using a lookalike girl in its commercials



Monday, August 1, 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

BERNANKE CAUGHT! HALF A TRILLION $$ STOLEN FROM THE AMERICAN CITIZENS

Wow!! Half a TRILLION dollars given to "central banks", and Fed Chairman Bernanke doesn't know WHO got this money?

If it looks like a skunk, and smells like a skunk, then it must be someone in Washington robbing the American people yet again!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Lebanon signs energy exploration deal with... JPost - Middle East

Lebanon signs energy exploration deal with... JPost - Middle East

Beirut's signing of agreement may violate UN sanctions against Tehran; Iranian parliamentary delegation tours Lebanese border with Israel.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Every Issue is a Moral Issue - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

Here are some excerpts from Mr. Youssef's article:

  • I submit that these so-called "social issues" mean more to "middle America" than Cafferty realizes. We call them "moral issues." To us, abortion is the slaughter of innocent human life, on a moral level with genocide or the slave trade.
  • What Cafferty doesn't understand is that every issue is a moral issue. The current bad economy didn't just happen. It was the direct result of immoral choices made by our leaders.
  • A candidate who doesn't value innocent life shouldn't be president. In 2002, Barack Obama voted to oppose the Induced Birth Infant Liability Act, outlawing infanticide of babies who survive late-term abortions. Mr. Obama didn't merely vote in favor of abortion, but in favor of killing babies outside the womb. A man whose moral compass is this defective cannot make moral decisions.
  • He promised an end to earmarks, a secure border, no lobbyists in his administration, no recess appointments, airing the healthcare debate on C-SPAN, elimination of failed programs—and he didn't keep even one of those promises. Candidate Obama opposed "same-sex marriage," but as president he nullified the Defense of Marriage Act. A record of broken promises does not equal moral leadership.


    Every Issue is a Moral Issue - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

    Dems Call for More Gun Control in Light of Operation Fast and Furious - Katie Pavlich - Townhall Conservative

     The government, that is the BATF, a division of the justice department, engaged in the selling of firearms that they knew would reach the Mexican drug cartels. Weapons they knew would be used to kill innocent people and would be used against American border agents. In fact, "Operation Fast and Furious" as this ATF screwup is known, resulted in border agent Brian A. Terry, 40, being killed on December 14 near Rio Rico, Arizona.

    Now in hearings by the House oversight committee, Democratic members of congress are calling for tougher gun control laws.

    How about this instead. Why don't people call their representatives in congress and tell them clearly, that we want those persons responsible for "Operation Fast and Furious" held to9 the highest standards of the law, and that all involved in this stupid operation be charged and prosecuted, even if it goes all the way to the very top of our government.

    To find out where and how you can contact your representative go to this website and click on your state on the map. You will then see a list of your U.S. Senators and members of the hose, complete with their Washington office phone numbers, fax numbers, and a link to his or her's online contact form.

    Below are a couple of excerpts from Townhall columnist Katie Pavlich's article:

    • "The report calls for improvement of the nation’s gun laws “to assist law enforcement agents in their efforts to counter drug violence and firearms trafficking by Mexican drug cartels,” stating these are “common sense” ways to help.
    • “ATF tracing data indicates that the number of U.S. firearms seized in Mexico is increasing dramatically,” the report states.
    • Once again, U.S. government officials have been illegally trafficking the firearms, therefore more gun laws won’t stop illegal trafficking and will only punish law abiding citizens and impose on Second Amendment rights."
     Read the full article by clicking below:

    Dems Call for More Gun Control in Light of Operation Fast and Furious - Katie Pavlich - Townhall Conservative

    Thursday, June 16, 2011

    North Carolina Becomes Third State to De-Fund Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com

    "North Carolina has become the third state to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business now that both houses of the state legislature have agreed to override pro-abortion Gov. Bev Perdue’s budget veto."
    From LifeNews.com

    North Carolina Becomes Third State to De-Fund Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com

    Tuesday, June 14, 2011

    The Green Jobs Fantasy - Mona Charen - Townhall Conservative

    The Green Jobs Fantasy - Mona Charen - Townhall Conservative

     "It's true that Spain has pursued the sort of policies Obama favors, but far from inaugurating a new green-technology era, Spain is floundering. According to the American Enterprise Institute, since 2000, Spanish taxpayers have spent $771,000 per job for each green job created. And each green job has been purchased at the cost of 2.2 jobs lost in other areas of the economy. Spain, its government close to insolvency, has been forced to reverse course, slashing subsidies for wind and solar power. Germany, too, whose citizens have paid 7.5 percent more for energy since the green subsidies were introduced, is reducing support for green sources of energy."

    Monday, May 23, 2011

    OPINION: Obamacare Waivers For Bloated Entities



    The Obama administration approved 204 new waivers to Democrats' healthcare reform law in April, bringing the total to 1,372.

    Of that total, almost 20% went to the Northern California district that is represented by Nancy Pelosi. The 38 waivers granted in Pelosi's district are for fancy restaurants, nightclubs, expensive hotels, spas and other businesses.

    For instance, the Daily Caller reports:

    • "Boboquivari’s restaurant in Pelosi’s district in San Francisco got a waiver from Obamacare. Boboquivari’s advertises $59 porterhouse steaks, $39 filet mignons and $35 crab dinners."

    It wasn't just Pelosi's district that received the waivers however. Companies, labor unions, and about two dozen states have applied for and been granted waivers to a provision of the law that says health policies must provide at least $750,000 a year in protection.

    Also, Obamacare rules apparently carry an exemption for Medicare supplemental insurance policies. AARP, a big supporter of Obamacare that spent millions in support of the act, received a waiver. I guess it didn't hurt for AARP to be the top marketer of Medicare supplemental policies, especially when they make around $1 billion in profits from these Medigap policies.

    Isn't it a bit strange how all of these labor unions, companies, and organizations that supported Obamacare, are getting the waivers because they can't afford it?

    Proof that Obamacare needs to be repealed, and repealed now.

    POLL: Which Republican do you support (so far) in a Presidential run?



    Here is a very unscientific poll. Pick the candidate you support and think has the best chance of winning in 2012. If you choose "Other" please use the comments area on the polling website to give your candidates name.


    Which Republican candidate do you feel has the best chance in a bid for President of the United States?
    Mitt Romney
    Tim Pawlenty
    Herman Cain
    Rick Santorum
    Sarah Palin
    Jon Huntsman
    Michele Bachmann
    Newt Gingrich
    Ron Paul
    John Bolton
    Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III
    Undecided
    None of the Above
    Other (Comment On Poll Site)




      
    pollcode.com free polls

    Thursday, May 19, 2011

    ZENIT - Allies Urged Pope Pius XII

    ZENIT - Allies Urged Pope Pius XII

    from speaking out against Nazi brutality, warning the Pope that a public protest could have grave consequences.

    Sunday, May 15, 2011

    Liberalism's Rape Corps

    Liberalism's Rape Corps

    School Boots Boy Scouts for Mother Earth - Mark Baisley - Townhall Finance

    School Boots Boy Scouts for Mother Earth - Mark Baisley - Townhall Finance



    Mr. Baisley has hit the nail on the head. Environmentalism has become a religion in and of itself. Where is the ACLU crying out against a religion such as Pantheism being taught and promoted in the school systems around the country?

    I won't hold my breath. The religion ban in schools only applies to Christians and Christianity.

    Thursday, May 12, 2011

    Sunday, May 8, 2011

    A Website That Mysteriously Takes You To Obama Re-election Website



    There is a great mystery afoot already in the beginning of the re-election campaign of President Obama. 

    It seems that if one goes to the website gutsycall.com, you are taken to the Obama re-election website. Obama re-election staffers and the Democratic National Committee both deny knowledge of the ownership of "gutsycall.com" and there is an implication from CNN's report that this may be an attempt "to embarrass the campaign making it look like it was gloating".

    Oh no!! Horrors!! The same curse to befall Obama as befell the Clintons???  A VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY!!

    Gee whiz guys. Get over yourselves.

    Read the story from CNN yourself.

    Tuesday, March 22, 2011

    MRC.org - Media Research Center

    MRC.org - Media Research Center

    60 Minutes' Safer Grills 'Right-Wing Conservative' NY Archbishop, Urges Catholic Church to be More Liberal.
    Morley Safer's questions, his attitude show just how "out of touch" the agenda driven mainstream media is when it comes to understanding the Catholic Church. They don't understand doctrine, they don't understand the teachings, because they believe that what man wants today is more important than what God wants for man. They... Safer and his contemporaries in the media, and those outside of the media as well... who support abortion, artificial birth control, same sex "marriage", and question celibacy within the Catholic Church, all believe that the Church, and that God should "change with the times". What they fail to understand is that what God has established... His truths... do not change and are eternal

    Man may change....the times may change...but God and His law never changes. This is what the Catholic Church...what Pope Benedict XVI....what Archbishop Timothy Dolan...recognizes, believes, and teaches.

    You can read the article from the Media Research Center by clicking the title above or by clicking here. You can also read the full transcript and story by clicking here.

    Saturday, March 12, 2011

    New Facebook Page- For Pope John Paul II



    Fox News is reporting that next week the Vatican will unveil a new Facebook page deicated to the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II.

    The page will link to highlights of the 27 year reign of John Paul and is designed to promote the May 1 beatification.

    You can read the entire story by clicking here.

    David Cameron defends ban on anti-gay foster parents - Telegraph

    David Cameron defends ban on anti-gay foster parents - Telegraph

    "High Court judges said there was no place in British law for Christian beliefs".....

    Read more by clicking the link above.

    Thursday, March 10, 2011

    A Hodge-Podge of News



    There are several stories that are out today regarding various subjects. I am going to list a few below in case you haven't seen them.

    The really good news for today, according to an ABC News story, is that Representative Gabrielle Giffords plans to attend the shuttle launch next month of her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly. Giffords survived a gunshot wound to the head after an alleged assassination attempt in January.


    Also from EWTN News is this "The United State Supreme Court has let stand an appellate court decision declaring that the national motto (“In God We Trust”) is constitutional."

    It seems that the Vatican Information Service may be having "technical issues" with it's English language feed of the VIS News today, so you can go here to the "Pope Benedict XVI" blog to get todays English language version of VIS News.

    Today, Asia News reports "The Grand Imam from the Islamic University of Al - Azhar, Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyib, condemns the attack on the Coptic Church of Soul, which took place on 5 March. In a press release, the Islamic leader has called the action a "distortion of Islam" and called on the Muslim community to rebuild the village church to defuse the climate of tension and violence between Copts and Muslims."

    More news is available from the news links on the right hand sidebar of this blog.

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011

    Beginning A New Section



    With the plethora of topics and news events that don't have a "neat fit" so to speak, on the other "Faith of the Fathers" blogs, I have decided to implement a new blog page to "cover" (as best we can) those topics on a local, national, and world level.

    Those topics will include politics, science, nature, humor, and assorted other topics, including religion. I will include my own views and opinions from time to time, and invite you to share your ideas and thoughts.

    Just remember when making your comments, that no personal attacks on any other commentor will be tolerated. Any "comments" that are off topic will not appear, and any comments that are "spam" will also not appear.
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