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Have You Not Heard?

 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  (Isaiah 40:28-31)






February 7, 2008

Questions for McCain from Still-Trying-to-Be-Hopeful Conservatives

I have said that I am not at the extreme tip of the right wing, but that you can see it very clearly from where I stand. I'm not used to being a centrist of sorts, politically speaking. (I probably am on environmental matters, but not on much of anything else.) So I find it uncomfortable to be in the position of having to defend myself from those to the right of me because I am not ready to throw John McCain overboard just yet.

I have traditionally been toward the fringes of the right wing. I have been at the forefront in opposing the homosexual agenda and in espousing conservative social issues. I also was a soldier in the Trencavel Wars (faith vs. unbelief) on Lucianne.com. I led the charge in the Harriet Miers Supreme Court fiasco. I was at the forefront in trying to deny Rudy Giuliani the nomination--using a phrase that others are now repeating about McCain: ''not under any conceivable circumstances.''

I have long had serious trepidations about McCain. We can talk about amnesty, McCain-Feingold, his declining ACU numbers, the Gang of 14, his vote against reducing taxes, etc., etc. For me, my opposition was crystallized in 2000 when it became obvious that he wasn't intending to be a close friend of social conservatives, as indicated not only by his ''agents of intolerance'' remark, but also by his wishy-washy comments on social issues.

But I am not ready yet to throw him under the bus. He is at the edge of the envelope for me, but he is still within that edge. I have said before that I will vote for him in November, if three issues are resolved: 1) he continues to repair bridges with social conservatives, 2) he chooses a good VP (after all, not to be too morbid, but he IS old and has health issues); and a good VP doesn't mean someone like Ridge, Pataki, or Lindsay Graham), and 3) I can find a big enough clothespin.

As we move forward, I have many questions for Senator McCain, but I will boil them down to three multiple part questions:

1) With regard to social conservatives, how will you repair bridges with social conservatives--the ''agents of intolerance''? Specifically, will you do more than merely restate old stats about your abortion voting record; will you do more than say that we will get Hillary if we don't get you? (That last one won't work this time Senator McCain.) To be specific, what would you do, for example, if a bill is passed by Congress within the next four years (which almost certainly will be the case) that extends federal non-discrimination regulations to homosexuals and transexuals? Will you veto it, Senator McCain? A ''yes'' or ''no'' will suffice.

2) With regard to our borders, I think that the biggest problem in addressing the illegal immigration problem hasn't been how to solve it. I think that the biggest problem has been that many people believe, rightly so I think, that the government doesn't actually want to solve it. There would probably be much more flexibility for the HOW if we were convinced of the RESOLVE to do so. Will you stop the flow of illegal immigrants? Will you address the anchor baby problem? Will you care?

3) The Supreme Court is a critical issue. Will you nominate someone like Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, or Clarence Thomas? More specifically, would you nominate someone whom you believed would overturn:

a. McCain-Feingold?
b. Roe v. Wade?
c. Lawrence v. Texas?

Thanks in advance for clarifying these issues,

Randy
(Engraved-on-His-hands)



January 7, 2007

On Widget Viruses and Waffleburger Hatting

Let's suppose that there are three groups: the Multi-WidgetVirus Party, the Neutral WidgetVirus Party, and the Sparsely-WidgetVirus Party. The Multis state a desire for a vast number of WidgetViruses. The Sparselys, on the other hand, say that the number of WidgetViruses should be kept low, preferably between 7 and 12, but definitely no more than 20. The Neutrals just want us all to get along. They also like fuzzy red hats.

Year 1: There are 9 WidgetViruses. The Sparselys propose that the number be reduced to 8. The Multis proposes that the number be increased to 18. The three parties compromise on 12. (The Multis are happy. The Sparselys are anxious. The Neutrals are content, and they have nice fuzzy red hats.)

Year 2: The Sparselys propose 9 WidgetViruses. The Multis propose 32. They compromise on 18. (The Multis are happier, even though they're not that crazy about red hats. The Sparselys are unhappy. The Neutrals criticize the Sparselys for having a bad attitude, but they compliment each other on their nice hats.)

Year 3: The Sparselys propose 12 WidgetViruses. The Multis propose 400. They compromise on 52. (The Multis are even happier, even though they proclaim that halfway between 12 and 400 should have given them over 200 WidgetViruses. The Sparselys wonder what happened. The Neutrals accuse the Sparselys of being greedy. Some within the Multis began to complain about the abundance of fuzzy red hats.)

Year 4: The Sparselys propose 30 WidgetViruses. The Multis propose 6000. They compromise on 1100. (The Multis blame the Sparselys for their intransigence in limiting the number of WidgetViruses to only 1100. The Neutrals say that 1100 is the best that the Sparselys can expect; that it is a fair compromise and they should learn to like it. Some Multis began playing a game in which Waffleburgers are thrown at fuzzy red hats.)

Year 5: The Sparselys decide that, since the number of WidgetViruses has gotten into the thousands, their strategy has failed and things can't get much worse. They refuse to negotiate with the Multis. The Sparselys return to their goal of 8 WidgetViruses. The Neutrals maintain that choosing the lesser of the two evils is the only sensible thing to do. The Multis and the Neutrals combine to establish 7,000 WidgetViruses as the standard. The sport of Waffleburger Hatting catches on.

Year 6: The Multis pass a law that no more than 50% of a hat may be red in color, and that it can only be fuzzy on the inside. The Neutrals are concerned, but decide that the Multis probably know best.

Year 7: Fuzzy red hats are outlawed, except during Waffleburger Hatting season; but pictures of fuzzy red hats are allowed. Many Neutrals compliment each other on their nice hat pictures. A few Neutrals begin to miss their fuzzy red hats.

Year 8: Sparselys approach a group of thoroughly Waffleburgered Neutrals and offer them nice fuzzy red hats if they will once again agree to limit the number of WidgetViruses to less than 10. Some Neutrals, while clutching their red hat pictures, say that the proposal is ridiculous; that there will never be less than 7000 WidgetViruses, nor should there be. Other Neutrals seriously consider the proposal...



November 6, 2006

The Passing Storm

On the day before the election, it looks, hopefully, as if Bob Corker will defeat Harold Ford and be elected the next Senator from Tennessee. He has come from being consistently behind only a month or so ago in most polls to being up by five points or more in some polls. Why the turnaround?

Some, such as Jesse Jackson, have basically said that the reason for the turnaround is an RNC ad that supposedly played the race card, and that Tennesseans wouldn’t vote for a black man.

Pffftttt!!

First of all, I’ve already voted for a black man for national office--Alan Keyes for President. I think that a black man could easily be elected in Tennessee if the circumstances were right, such as his hewing to a conservative philosophy rather than a liberal one.

Second, most of us wouldn’t have had a clue that the race card had supposedly been played if we hadn’t had the wise media moguls and political gurus to ’splain it to us. (Most of us still don’t think that a race card has been played.)

Third, there is an obvious reason for the turnaround. It mirrors the turnaround in the Corker campaign. Up until about a month ago, Corker had been running an atrocious campaign: awkward commercials with his Maw-muh, pathetic performances in the debates (Debates are not his strong point), concentrating on issues that mean little to many Tennesseans, not energizing the Republican base. But, about a month ago, things began to turn around. Commercials began to speak to the real issues. People with coattails, such as Ed Bryant, began to take a more visible role. The campaign changed from stumbling to striding.

I don’t think that the turnaround started with the famous RNC ad about the Playboy party. I don’t know if that one even helped. I think that the turnaround started earlier, the week of the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s excellent radio ad entitled “Left Lane”–perhaps the best ad for Bob Corker during the entire campaign. That same week Ed Bryant began taking a more active role in the campaign as well. The Corker campaign ads began to gradually improve. Good ads from other groups, such as the National Right to Life, began to air. (The script readers for the NRTL ad were horrible–oh, and I mean horrible–but the message still came through.) The Corker campaign itself eventually came out with quality commercials.

When all the cards had finally been laid on the table, the message was clear: Ford was better looking; he spoke more eloquently; he was smooth, and he was slick. But his voting record was not conservative.

Admitting Ford’s strengths while highlighting his weaknesses prompted many to take a sober look at the candidates. People realized that Ford’s weaknesses were in the areas that mattered much more than those areas represented by the shining but shallow veneer of his strengths. He was fancy; he was slick; he was smooth. But he only drove in the left lane.

Looking back over the campaign, there is one question that I wish had been asked. Harold Ford said that he would have voted for John Roberts for the Supreme Court but would not have voted for Samuel Alito because Ford believed that Alito’s decisions were consistently against “the little guy”. The question that I would have liked to ask is this: If Alito maintained his perceived conservative views on hot-button social issues (such as abortion, gay marriage, etc.), but changed his views so that he decided consistently in favor of “the little guy”, would Harold Ford have voted for him then? In other words, is there any substance lying beneath that moderate veneer?

I think that Harold Ford ran an excellent campaign. I commend his efforts. I’m encouraged that Democrats such as Mr. Ford thought it important to reach out to social conservatives. It’s not unthinkable that a political realignment could occur in which such efforts might prove fruitful in the future. Mr. Ford is obviously intelligent, conducts himself well, and has much to offer on a variety of topics. But, realistically, today’s Democrat Party is so liberal that the “moderate” Harold Ford votes essentially the same as those who were described as liberal Democrats thirty years ago. Until the Democrat Party revamps itself, even its more moderate members are just not conservative enough.







October 12, 2006

The Perfect Storm

People from outside of Tennessee probably wonder how the state that denied ''native son'' Al Gore the Presidency could possibly elect Harold Ford as Senator. The truth is that, apart from the relative merits and abilities of the two candidates, there are political undercurrents in Tennessee that are tremendously important in this race. Those from outside often don't see beneath the calm surface waters.

There has been tension for years in Tennessee within the Republican Party between the moderate business wing and the conservative wing. The conservative wing is more numerous, but not as well funded. The moderates seem to get their moderate, establishment guys elected, even if they have to elect a Democrat to do so. So we've had Baker, Thompson, Alexander, Sundquist, Bredesen, and others. (Expect Bill Haslam to be the next in line.)

It has been obvious for awhile that the flood of discontent would someday spill over the dam of restraint, resulting in conservatives eventually balking at a moderate nominee. So we have, for example, Frank Cagle, a prominent conservative figure in East Tennessee, in frustration advocating voting for Harold Ford.

Ford Is Your Answer

Personally, I agree that there needs to be a point beyond which we will not go. I thought about this year's situation for awhile myself, but decided fairly early on to vote for Corker. Others have obviously gone throught the same process. In contrast to Frank Cagle, Rob Huddleston, a prominent political blogger, declared that he would NOT support Corker, but eventually changed his mind.

VOLuntarilyConservative Endorsement: Bob Corker for United States Senate

Although Republicans have managed to win Senate seats for years in Tennessee, this year's scenario is especially troublesome--a ''perfect storm'' to a certain extent:

1) Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary, both very conservative, received over fifty percent of the vote in the primary. Corker won with a plurality.

2) In his last statewide election, Corker was pro-choice on abortion. Tennessee Right to Life has still refused to endorse him.

3) In the last statewide election, Bob Corker supported a Democrat, Phil Bredesen for governor. Bredesen's opponent? Van Hilleary--whose supporters Corker is now trying to convince to be loyal to the Republican Party.

I don't doubt Cagle's sincerity. I don't personally know him, but I have seen him working the phone banks for Ed Bryant during the primary. I just think that, for him, this year was the tipping point. I think that the number of Republican voters who have decided as he has are few. But, if that number is only 5%, then Ford probably wins.

People looking in from the outside probably wonder how Republicans can let someone like Harold Ford become Senator. We hear a lot about voting for ''the lesser of the two evils'' and about being willing to opt for ''half a loaf''. Those arguments would have been effective with conservative Tennesseans 25 years ago. Now, they have almost the opposite effect. They are almost seen as efforts to keep us ''on the plantation'' and to ''keep us in our place''. Republican politics in Tennessee is a mess. If you don't think that Ford has a chance, think again. Corker has formidable challenges ahead of him on both the Left and the Right.

There has been an unspokent agreement in Tennessee politics that, even though the moderates get to elect the Republican candidates, that those candidates have to vote correctly on the hot-button issues of the day. They will not be forces for change, but they will vote correctly when required to do so.

In that tradition, I think that Bob Corker will cast the necessary votes when called upon. I think that we need to emphasize Corker's promise in his TV ad during the primary:

They know Bob Corker respects the sanctity of life, and will vote that way in the Senate. That he supports traditional marriage between one man and one woman, and he’ll vote that way in the Senate. And that Bob Corker believes judges should not legislate from the bench. And he’ll vote that way in the U.S. Senate.

I think that we need to vote for Corker. And then we need to hold him accountable.

If he wavers from his promise, then we vote him out in six years. That is, if we get the chance.

Unfortunately, this year may indeed be the perfect storm.



July 4, 2006

Statement by Fatos Nano

(March 20, 2003)

As a new democracy, Albania is proud to stand with the United States, the United Kingdom and others in the Coalition of the Willing to rid Iraq of the weapons of mass destruction and bring about freedom to the long-suffering Iraqi people.

We Albanians are a nation of freedom fighters who know something about living under oppression. That is why we wholeheartedly support the American-led effort to free the people of Iraq. And though we are a small country with a small military, we are proud to stand side by side with our allies in the fight to end the reign of terror in Baghdad.

Now that the fighting has begun, we expect the Albanian commandos we have sent to aid in the operation will acquit themselves well. Also, we are proud to have pledged our unconditional support in terms of additional troops, ports, bases, and air fields.

History is old. The only new thing about history is the United States. America is the only country in the world that exports freedom. When the historical occasion has called for it, the United States of America has been willing to pay the price in order to free the oppressed, even in states that have sought its harm.

It brought freedom and democracy to Japan and Germany after defeating both in World War II. It rebuilt their societies and taught them about liberty. It helped bring down the Berlin Wall hastening the process of freedom in Central and Eastern Europe. It rarely asked anything in return. Now the United States and its Coalition of the Willing will bring liberty to Iraq.

And when the Coalition of the Willing completes its work, it will be time for the Coalition of Builders to repair, restore and rebuild Iraq under the name of freedom.

We are proud to be in the company of the free.

 (Statement by Fatos Nano, Prime Minister of Albania, on March 20, 2003)



July 21, 2005

Thought for Today:

 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the pride of men shall be brought low;
and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
And the idols shall utterly pass away.
And men shall enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the LORD,
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.

(Isaiah 2:17-19)


Articles

Canadian Senate OKs Gay Marriage
         Associated Press by Staff

  • TORONTO — Canada's Senate late Tuesday voted to adopt landmark legislation to legalize gay marriage nationwide despite fierce opposition from Conservatives and religious leaders. The bill could be signed into law as early as Wednesday....

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Canadian National Public Radio Broadcasts Call for State Control of Religion, Especially Catholicism
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • OTTAWA - Just as Senate approaches the final vote on the gay 'marriage' bill, C-38, Canada's national public radio CBC Radio has aired a commentary by a retired professor from the Royal Military College calling for state control over religion, specifically Catholicism. While parliamentarians dismissed warnings by numerous religious leaders and experts that such laws would lead to religious persecution, former professor Bob Ferguson has called for "legislation to regulate the practice of religion."...

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Unusual Iron Age steles discovered in Ardebil Province
         Tehran Times by Staff

  • TEHRAN -- Over 500 stone steles bearing images of faces of men and women with no mouths were recently discovered at Shahr Yeri in Ardebil Province, the director of the team of archaeologists working at the site announced on Tuesday....

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Santorum defends gay staff member
         Scranton Times-Tribune (Pa.) by Borys Krawczeniuk

  • PLAINS TOWNSHIP — U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who has likened homosexuality to incest, bigamy and polygamy, said Monday that an openly homosexual member of his staff is “a trusted employee” who will continue to “have my confidence.”...

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It’s called hating the sin and loving the sinner
         The Anchoress by The Anchoress

  • To some folks - even a few of my readers, from whom I would expect better - it all seems very mysterious - like the height of hypocrisy: Senator Rick Santorum speaks out (a little too forcefully for my taste, but he’s not my senator) about the homosexual lifestyle and agenda, and so - somehow - that makes him a hypocrite for defending his gay spokesman, whom some of the left have “outed.”...

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Pre-Incas kept detailed records too
         Reuters by Jude Webber

  • A sophisticated arrangement of knots and strings, found on the site of the oldest city in the Americas, indicates ancient Peruvians were skilled at conveying detailed information much earlier than once thought.

    Archaeologists say the string arrangement, known as a quipu or khipu, indicates ancient Americans were expert communicators thousands of years earlier....

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Miss Universe against law
         News.com.au by Staff

  • CANADIAN Miss Universe Natalie Glebova was forced to take off her official sash at a local festival celebrating Thailand when Toronto authorities invoked a law against sexual stereotyping....

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July 20, 2005

Thought for Today:

 For thou, O Lord, art my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

(Psalms 71:5)


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Yesterday at 9:00 Eastern Time, President Bush announced John Roberts as his nominee to the Supreme Court.

Thank You President Bush!

Articles

Roberts is Bush's choice
         Associated Press by Staff

  • President Bush chose federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. today as his first nominee for the Supreme Court, selecting a rock-solid conservative who has won broad support from both parties but still faces what could be a contentious battle over the direction of the nation's highest court....

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Life In the Family
         ''Bench Memos'' at National Review Online by Kathryn Jean Lopez

  • Since the Washington Post wrote about Bush's women and abortion today, how about Judge Roberts's? John Roberts's wife, Jane, has served as executive vice president of Feminists for Life (one of my favorite groups)....

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Meet John Roberts
         National Review Online by Shannen W. Coffin

  • If he hoped to keep his promise to nominate only the best and brightest as federal judges, President Bush couldn’t have done much better than tabbing Judge John G. Roberts to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Roberts, a former top-notch Supreme Court lawyer, currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, considered by most to be the top Court of Appeals in the country. A brilliant lawyer, devoted husband and father, and judge respected on both sides of the aisle, Roberts will serve this country with distinction as a member of the highest Court in the land....

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Attorney: Fired Allstate Employee's Trial Carries Implications for Religious Freedom
         Agape Press by Jim Brown

  • There's a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday (July 20) in the case of a former Allstate employee who claims the insurance company fired him for writing an article against homosexual "marriage." The outcome of the case will likely determine whether a Christian employee can be fired for expressing his religious beliefs while off the job....

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It's Still "Shacking Up"
         Crosswalk by Mark Daniels

  • Divorce is on the decline in America, but a new report suggests that statistic might be more of a function of an increase in cohabitation, than it is a reflection of marital bliss. Couples who once might have wed and then divorced, now are not marrying at all, according to The State of our Unions 2005....

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July 19, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”

(from "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" by Charles Wesley [slightly revised])


Articles

Conservatives are told it will not be Gonzales
         The Hill by Alexander Bolton

  • White House officials have assured select conservative leaders that they will not nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, according to a conservative familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussions....

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Treasure from ancient Pompeii unveiled
         Associated Press by Staff

  • ROME — Decorated cups and fine silver platters were once again polished and on display today as archaeologists unveiled an ancient Roman dining set that lay hidden for two millennia in the volcanic ash of Pompeii....

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Centuries-old bones of horses unearthed in Carlsbad
         North County Times (Calif.) by Philip K. Ireland

  • CARLSBAD ---- Archaeologists working against the clock in Carlsbad have unearthed another nearly intact skeleton of a horse that may have lived and died 50 years before the Spanish began their conquest of California....

    The finds are significant because native North American horses were thought to have been extinct more than 10,000 years ago, and the remains are older than the recorded conquests by the Spanish, who reintroduced horses to the New World....

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July 18, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."

(Daniel 3:16-18)


Articles

Who shorted British pound?
         WorldNetDaily by Joseph Farah

  • WASHINGTON -- In the 1988 Hollywood hit "Die Hard," starring Bruce Willis, a group of "terrorists" take over a Japanese banking institution in Los Angeles, hold hostages and make demands for release of "political prisoners."

    But it turns out the terrorists aren't really terrorists. They are bank robbers trying to make off with the fortune in the bank's vaults.

    Could it be Osama bin Laden has seen "Die Hard"?...

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Tories are throwing in the towel
         Edmonton Sun by Paul Stanway

  • Well, it wasn't exactly a fight to the finish. For the second time in a matter of months, Ralph Klein appears to have thrown in the towel on the issue of gay marriage in Alberta.

    The Senate is likely to pass the new federal same-sex marriage legislation, Bill C-38, within days, and when the Governor General signs it into law, "We will proceed to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples - much to our chagrin," says Ralph....

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Specter Says He'd Like Swing-Voter Justice
         Associated Press by Nedra Pickler

  • WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Senate committee that will oversee hearings on President Bush's Supreme Court nominee said Sunday that he would like to see a moderate in the tradition of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and perhaps someone with experience in politics....

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Wake-up call
         Calgary Sun by Paul Jackson

  • Our grandparents would not recognize the frayed and fractured country that was once admired across the seven seas and in the four corners of the world as the Dominion of Canada.

    Several decades of nihilistic federal Liberalism, starting with the iconoclastic Pierre Trudeau, through the thuggish Jean Chretien and right up to today with the principle-lacking Paul Martin, have rendered our once great nation rudderless....

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Lawmakers should stay out of gay rights case, judge is told
         Associated Press by Ryan J. Foley

  • MADISON, Wis. - The American Civil Liberties Union and the state's attorney general are making similar legal arguments in asking a judge to turn down the Legislature's request to intervene in a major gay rights case.

    They are on different sides of the dispute, but both agree the Legislature has no legal grounds to fight the lawsuit aimed at getting the state to pay for health care benefits for the partners of gay state employees....

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House Bill Would Offer Domestic Partner Benefits to Unmarried Workers
         The Washington Post by Stephen Barr

  • Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), joined by 52 other House members, has introduced legislation that would allow unmarried employees of the federal government to apply for health insurance, retirement and other benefits for their domestic partners....

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July 17, 2005

Thought for Today:

 The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

(John 8:57-58)


Articles

Evangelicals out for a justice
         Chicago Tribune by Mike Dorning

  • WASHINGTON — On a January morning in 1980, a day when thousands of abortion opponents protested the anniversary of Roe v. Wade across from the White House, a group of conservative evangelical leaders sat down for breakfast with the born-again president, Jimmy Carter.

    The responses they heard on abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment, gay rights and other social issues left them unimpressed. A relationship that already had been strained was irretrievably broken....

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July 16, 2005

Thought for Today:

 The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman; and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people; then if any one who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any one of them; that man is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

(Ezekiel 33:1-6)


Articles

Biblical Scroll Fragments Found in Israel
         Associated Press by Danielle Haas

  • JERUSALEM — A secretive encounter with a Bedouin robber in a desert valley led to what an Israeli archaeologist hailed Friday as one of the most important biblical finds from the region in a half century.

    The discovery of two fragments from a nearly 2,000-year-old parchment scroll give rise to hope that the Judean Desert may yield more treasures...

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Methodist Retreat Center Hosting Pro-Homosexual Rally Over Labor Day Weekend
         Agape Press by Jim Brown and Jody Brown

  • The official retreat center for the Southeast Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church is taking heat for its plans to host a convocation put on by major pro-homosexual caucus groups within Methodism.

    The Labor Day weekend conference at Lake Junaluska in North Carolina will focus on how to lobby to overturn the church's teachings on marriage and sex, and lobby for the acceptance of same-sex "marriage" and practicing homosexual clergy. Called "Hearts of Fire," the conference is being organized by the pro-homosexual Methodist group Reconciling Congregations....

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All for One?
         Opinion Journal (from the Wall Street Journal) by Frederica Mathewes-Green

  • "The need is felt to join forces and spare no energies" to renew dialogue between Catholic and Orthodox Christians, said Pope Benedict XVI. In comments to delegates of the Patriarch of Constantinople on June 30, the pope explained that "the unity we seek is neither absorption nor fusion, but respect for the multiform fullness of the Church."

    Outsiders may wonder: Why don't those two venerable churches just kiss and make up? From the outside, they look a lot alike. Each church claims roots in earliest Christian history. The dispute that split them is a thousand years old. Isn't it time to move on?...

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Committee revives bill to legalize gay marriage
         Associated Press by Brian Melley

  • The quest to legalize gay marriage was revived by a Senate committee that approved the measure that was slipped into a fisheries research bill after it failed in the state Assembly. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 Tuesday in favor of the bill that mirrors one that fell four votes shy last month in the Assembly....

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Maine Activist Condemns Elitist Lawmakers Pushing Homosexual Agenda
         Agape Press by Rusty Pugh and Jenni Parker

  • For the third time in recent years, voters in Maine will go to the voting booth to stop the homosexual agenda being forced on them by activists and their own legislature....

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Same-sex issue defence of traditional marriage, not hatred
         Ancaster News (Canada) by Tom Bartlett

  • In a letter I submitted three weeks back which was not included in the newspaper, I spoke about how the same-sex marriage issue was not about hatred or fear or homosexuals, but defence of traditional marriage....

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First Lady Listens to Orphaned Rwandan
         Associated Press by Jennifer Loven

  • SAL ISLAND, Cape Verde - Laura Bush heard a Rwandan girl tearfully describe raising her three young brothers, their father killed in the 1994 genocide and their mother dead of AIDS. She saw miles of South African shanty towns, tin and tarpaper shacks crowded in the shadow of Cape Town's wealth....

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AFA Chairman Urges Consumers Not to Support Pro-Homosexual Companies
         Agape Press by Allie Martin

  • The chairman of the American Family Association says consumers need to know which companies are actively promoting homosexuality and same-sex "marriage." Diversity Inc. recently published its "Top 10 Companies for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Employees " list, which includes some "household names" that might surprise many pro-family householders....

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July 15, 2005

Thought for Today:

 To fallen soldiers let us sing
where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
to the mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
just divine embrace, eternal light
in the mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard tho the angels sleep
All through the ages safely keep the mansions of the Lord

 (from "The Mansions of the Lord" by Randall Wallace)


Articles

Rehnquist Says He'll Stay on Supreme Court
         Associated Press by Ron Fournier and Gina Holland

  • Squelching rumors of his retirement, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said Thursday he will continue heading the Supreme Court while battling thyroid cancer. "I'm not about to announce my retirement," he said.

    "I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement," Rehnquist, 80, said...

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The Most Common Mistakes People Make in Their Financial Planning
         Agape Press by James H. Shoemaker

  • In preparing this list of the most common mistakes people make related to their finances, I speak from experience that has encompassed hundreds of client sessions. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but serves to highlight the planning mistakes we have seen most frequently....

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ACLU Seeks Mandatory Homosexual Sensitivity Training
         Concerned Women for America by Robert Knight

  • The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing school districts in California and Kentucky in an attempt to force them to conduct mandatory homosexual appreciation sessions for students and staff.

    In south Los Angeles, the ACLU of Southern California, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), reached a settlement requiring mandatory attitudinal training at Washington Preparatory High School.

    “The training is a model for the state,” said Christine Sun, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, in a press release.

    The sessions, according to the NCLR release, include: “mandatory day-long faculty training on diversity, discrimination and harassment, focused primarily on issues pertaining to actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.”...
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Purity Under Attack!
         American Daily by Rob Hood

  • I often wonder how many people today are truly committed to purity, honor, truth, and common decency today. I know that we live in a time where TV is horribly skewed with false information, explicit sexual content and references, extreme violence, and profane language. We live in a time when we are constantly battling with something, whether it be personal money struggles, relationship problems, work problems, the fear of domestic abuse, the fear of international terrorism, or other stressful things....

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In Albania . . . Part III
         National Review Online by Jay Nordlinger

  • Okay, sports fans — or Albania fans — this is the finale. For Part I of this journal, please go here. And for Part II, please go here.

    Just to remind you: I have been in Albania, and elsewhere in the Balkans, with Congressman Eliot Engel and his posse. They have gone on to Kosovo, and I am scribbling in Podgorica. This is the capital of Montenegro, an aspiring independent nation — but more about that in a moment....

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Living on Purpose
         Christianity.ca by Emily Wierenga

  • Steve Fossett has no intention of stopping.

    It's his ambition to break the world record for, well, breaking world records. Despite gaining recognition on the race track and in a sail boat, circumnavigating the world in a balloon and most recently, in an airplane, the 60-year-old millionaire adventurist says he's always seeking new challenges to overcome.

    Yet he's not the only one who's chasing after something....

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Wyo. Panel Approves Grizzly Boundaries
         Associated Press by Bob Moen

  • RAWLINS, Wyo. -- The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission set boundaries Tuesday for where grizzly bears can roam in the state in hopes of ending special federal protections and giving Wyoming, Montana and Idaho more control over the bears.

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering removing grizzlies from Endangered Species Act protection, citing steadily growing populations and adequate protections for the bear and its habitat in the Yellowstone National Park area....

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Catholic Cardinal Warns Senate of Impending Anti-Christian Prosecution With Gay 'Marriage'
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • OTTAWA - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada made a presentation to a committee of the Canadian Senate today on the homosexual 'marriage' bill. Speaking for himself and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Ouellet said to the Senators, "we are turning to you in the hope that you will prevent the adoption of this unjust law."

    The Cardinal made mention of situations where legal authorities have already trampled on rights of Christians who oppose same sex 'marriage' such as marriage commissioners who were forced out of their jobs for refusing on grounds of conscience to perform homosexual 'marriages.'...

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Paedophile who abused girl sues employer for unfair dismissal
         The Telegraph (U.K.) by David Sapsted

  • A paedophile sacked by a Christian publishing company after being convicted of sexually abusing a four-year-old girl is suing his employers for unfair dismissal....

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Identity Justice
         National Review Online by Jonah Goldberg

  • Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who is supposed to help pick a replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, says he's "not a candidate" for the job. I don't believe him, and hardly anyone else in Washington does either. There's precedent for such doubt. As you may recall, Dick Cheney wasn't a candidate for the job of vice president, either, when he ran George W. Bush's search committee to find a running mate in 2000....

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Fish Bill Gutted; Now Smells Like Once-Defeated Homosexual 'Marriage' Legislation
         Agape Press by Jody Brown

  • If it looks like a fisheries research bill and smells like a fisheries bill, chances are -- at least in California -- that it's a bill promoting homosexual "marriage." One family advocate in the Golden State calls the resurrection of the once-dead legislation "an abuse of process."...

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Oh! Canada: Normalizing Pedophilia
         WorldNetDaily by Ted Byfield

  • Now that the gay lobby has successfully persuaded the Parliament of Canada to legalize same-sex marriage, the question arises: What will it do next?...

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July 13, 2005

Thought for Today:

 For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

 (Psalms 84:10)


Articles

Church of England agrees to have women bishops within seven years
         The Telegraph (U.K.) by Jonathan Petre

  • The Church of England took a historic step towards consecrating its first women bishops yesterday despite warnings that the move would precipitate fresh divisions and dissension.

    Thirteen years after voting to ordain women priests, the Church's General Synod voted decisively to begin the process to remove the legal obstacles that prevent them becoming bishops....

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Religious Hate Law Aimed At Protecting Muslims Passes UK Vote
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Patrick Goodenough

  • In a victory for British Muslim campaigners, the House of Commons Monday passed a bill aimed at curbing religious hatred, despite critics' warnings that it could worsen relations between religious communities....

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Back to first principles
         Creators Syndicate by Bill Murchison

  • On Sunday they packed 'em in -- a circumstance you wouldn't have noted for some long while in English churches, which, like European churches in general, seem to resound mainly with historic echoes. But there was praying to be done, and it seemed to the English people meet, right and their bounden duty -- as the Book of Common Prayer would have it -- to lay their sorrows and perplexities before the Lord....

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N.C. courts may ask legislators to decide Quran issue
         Associated Press by Staff

  • GREENSBORO, N.C.--Legislators may be asked to decide if the Quran and other religious texts can be used for courtroom oaths, said a spokesman for the agency that manages state courts, as the ACLU pressed for a response on the texts' use.

    The legal foundation of the ACLU of North Carolina has called on the state Administrative Office of the Courts to adopt a policy allowing the Quran and other religious texts for oath-taking in North Carolina courtrooms....

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Mysterious Hot Spot Sparks Fire
         Associated Press by Staff

  • SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Scientists are puzzled by a mysterious Los Padres National Forest hot spot where 400-degree ground ignited a wildfire....

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Liberals Push Bill Adding 'Sexual Orientation' to Federal Law
         Human Events Online by Robert H. Knight

  • Eleven pro-homosexual congressmen have introduced a bill that would add “sexual orientation” to the list of protected categories for federal employees....

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July 12, 2005

Thought for Today:

 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

(Daniel 12:2-3)


Articles

From Srebrenica to Baghdad
         Slate by Christopher Hitchens

  • Ten years since the hecatomb of Srebrenica … surely a decade cannot have passed so quickly? It really feels to me like yesterday. I can hear Susan Sontag's exact tone of voice as she described being in a ministerial office in Sarajevo when the mayor of Srebrenica got through on a bad line to say, "This is goodbye." He did not mean au revoir....

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Educators' Union Lays Strategy to Offset Attacks on Pro-Homosexual Policies
         Agape Press by Jim Brown and Jody Brown

  • The National Education Association (NEA) has adopted a new strategy to counter opposition to the formation of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in public schools, and has condemned opponents of those clubs.

    At its recent convention in Los Angeles, representatives of the 2.7-million-member NEA voted overwhelmingly to develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with "the new and more sophisticated attacks" against policies that create a safe environment for "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender" (GLBT) students in schools....

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In Albania . . .
         National Review Online by Jay Nordlinger

  • Friends, I'm writing you from Albania — actually, I'm writing you from the airport in Podgorica, Montenegro, but that's another story. I have just been in Albania, for the purpose of doing an NR piece. That piece will appear in our forthcoming issue. But I wanted to just scribble a few notes for you here....

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July 11, 2005

Thought for Today:

 “Sleepers, wake!” the watch cry pealeth,
While slumber deep each eyelid sealeth:
Awake, Jerusalem, awake!
Midnight’s solemn hour is tolling,
And seraph-notes are onward rolling;
They call on us our part to take.
Come forth, ye virgins wise:
The Bridegroom comes, arise!
Alleluia! Each lamp be bright with ready light
To grace the marriage feast tonight.

 (from "Sleepers, Wake! The Watch Cry Pealeth" by Philipp Nicolai [1599])


Articles

Environmentalists, coal industry battle over mountaintop mining
         Knight Ridder Newspapers by Bob Downing

  • BOB WHITE, W.Va. - Maria Gunnoe could be the poster child for a controversy spreading across the coalfields of southern West Virginia.

    The 37-year-old waitress, mother of two and daughter of a coal miner knows from experience what can happen when a mountaintop is removed....

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July 10, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Fair is the sunshine,
fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling, starry host:
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer,
than all the angels heaven can boast.

(from "Fairest Lord Jesus" by Münster Gesangbuch)


Articles

Thanks to our troops, we here are still safe
         The Tennessean by Tim Chavez

  • The terrorist bombings yesterday in London should remind Americans and Tennesseans of the standard of success in the war on terrorism. It's a morning commute to work by mothers and fathers without incident. It's a Fourth of July celebration where the only spectacular explosions are in the sky, not on the ground. It's an uneventful trip to the mall with hundreds of other parents and children to buy school clothes and supplies for a new year of learning....

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Judgment Day
         The Weekly Standard by Fred Barnes

  • President Bush needs to keep two facts in mind as he looks to replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor (and, should he step down, Chief Justice William Rehnquist). The first is that he can win confirmation of almost any conceivable nominee for the High Court, screams of protest by Democrats and hostile media coverage notwithstanding. The second is that he has a promise to keep. Since he began running for the White House six years ago, he has declared endlessly his intention to select judges who interpret the law rather than create it--in a word, conservatives. On this, he has never equivocated....

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FBI joins search for indicted leader of polygamous sect
         Associated Press by Staff

  • SALT LAKE CITY - The FBI has joined the hunt for the leader of a polygamous sect on the Utah-Arizona border who is wanted on criminal sex charges.

    The bureau added a charge of unlawful flight against Warren Steed Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who faces a state indictment charging he arranged a marriage between a teenage girl and a 28-year-old man who already had one wife....

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Immigrant rights group appeals to AG
         The Union Leader (N.H.) by Kathryn Marchocki

  • A statewide immigrants rights task force yesterday asked Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte to instruct local police chiefs to stop using the state's criminal trespass law against illegal aliens....

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July 9, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD."

(Jeremiah 9:23-24)


Articles

Appeals Court Voids Ban on 'Partial Birth' Abortions
         The New York Times by Julia Preston

  • A federal appeals court yesterday upheld a ruling by a lower court judge striking down the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which bars a method of abortion generally used after the first trimester. ...

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Opening Shot of 'The Ultimate Culture War'
         Human Events Online by Mike Thompson

  • The fatal flaw of Britain's and Europe's establishment today is not just its shameless worship at the altar of statism; rather, it is its failure to defend the region's historic, Christian-nurtured culture (the West) against Islamic-nurtured culture (the East). By liberally and uncritically opening its borders to millions of fanatical immigrant religionists, all Europe (including the insular Brits) flirts with actual cultural suicide....

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Oregon Senate Passes Civil Union Bill
         Associated Press by Charles E. Beggs

  • SALEM, Ore. -- The state Senate approved a bill Friday that would give same-sex couples most of the legal benefits of marriage, but the civil union legislation appeared doomed in the Republican-run state House....

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Cookie Company Refuses to Crumble Before Homosexual Agenda
         Agape Press by Allie Martin

  • An Indiana bakery has pulled a large ad campaign from a trade magazine in response to the publication's decision to run a pro-homosexual editorial.

    For years Ellison Bakery has advertised extensively in Dairy Field magazine, a trade publication for the dairy industry. Recently, however, Dairy Field ran an editorial critical of conservative pro-family groups such as the American Family Association for censuring Kraft Foods for its pro-homosexual policies. AFA has particularly targeted Kraft lately because of the food company's sponsorship of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago....

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Judge: No Gov't Money for Boy Scout Trip
         Associated Press by Dan Caterinicchia

  • Chicago -- A federal judge has ruled the Pentagon can no longer spend millions in government money to ready a Virginia military base for a national Boy Scout event typically held every four years, the American Civil Liberties Union announced Thursday.

    U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning's June 22 order stems from a 1999 lawsuit by the ACLU of Illinois that claimed the Defense Department sponsorship violates the First Amendment because the Scouts require members to swear an oath of duty to God....

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450 Turkish Sheep Leap to Their Deaths
         Associated Press by Staff

  • ISTANBUL, Turkey — First one sheep jumped to its death.

    Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported....

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Gays Want "Queer Issues" in Schools
         Christianity.ca /B.C. Christian News by Frank Stirk

  • A pending human rights complaint aimed at forcing British Columbia's public school curriculum to include compulsory lessons on "queer issues" could make some students balk at discussing those issues, says Christian educator Steve Bailey....

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July 8, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Father, hear the prayer we offer:
Nor for ease that prayer shall be,
But for strength, that we may ever
Live our lives courageously.

(from "Father, Hear the Prayer We Offer" by Love M. Willis)


Articles

Britain 'defiant' as bombers kill 52 in attack on the heart of London
         Times Online (UK) by Staff

  • Britain stood united last night in defiance of the bomb attacks which killed at least 52 people and left 700 injured as the reality of the War on Terror came to London....

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The Slow Goodbye
         Christianity.ca by Phil Callaway

  • [Their lives filled with love and good memories, the two old lovers are saying a slow goodbye to this earth, surrounded by children who love them and nurses who care.]

    Comedy was not my first choice. I wanted to be strong and good-looking. I wanted to have girls talk about me in front of my back. But I discovered early in life that the gals weren't looking for a sense of humour. They wanted solid, chiselled features and money for snacks. I had neither. So my dad tried to console me: "Poverty is hereditary," he said. "You get it from your children." A sense of humour is too. I got it from my dad....

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O, Canada...
         American Family Association by Stephen Bennett

  • Over the last several years, I have developed a friendship with a fellow Christian from Canada. His name is Chris Kempling. Chris, a husband and father of two grown children, is a Guidance Counselor, overseeing several elementary schools in his province. In addition, Chris also has a clinical private practice, helping men and women to overcome their unwanted same-sex attraction....

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Fair Warning
         Christianity.ca by Roy Upton

  • The experience was unforgettable. As a small boy I stood in what seemed a massive graveyard. Nestled in the lower Canadian Rockies between Lethbridge and Cranbrook is Crowsnest Pass. I stood there amazed, viewing what is known as the Frank Slide. An entire valley was strewn with massive chunks of limestone. Underneath lay the former town of Frank and many of its residents....

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Advice and Consent
         The Daily Standard by Terry Eastland

  • OF THE MANY LAWYERS under consideration for nomination to the seat vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor, only one, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, is drawing substantially negative reviews from conservatives. Of course, it's understandable why Gonzales is on the president's short list. Bush first hired him years ago and has held him in such high regard as to appoint him to a series of important jobs--even, years ago, to a judgeship on the Texas Supreme Court. In an interview in USA Today, Bush called Gonzales "a great friend of mine." Bush also likes to make diversity history, so to speak, and, having already given us, in Gonzales, the nation's first ever Hispanic attorney general, he could now decide to make him our first ever Hispanic justice....

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Bush: Stop knocking Gonzales
         Knight Ridder Newspapers by William Douglas

  • COPENHAGEN - President Bush defended Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a possible Supreme Court nominee, from conservative attacks Wednesday and urged the Senate to ignore multi-million dollar campaigns by activist groups when it weighs who should replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor....

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Bush's plea doesn't mute criticism of Gonzales
         USA Today by Mark Memmott

  • Social conservatives who have said they would oppose or withhold support from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as a Supreme Court nominee stuck to their positions Tuesday, despite President Bush's displeasure with the criticism of his “great friend.”...

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Church shuns MP for backing gay marriage
         Ottawa Citizen by Shannon Proudfoot

  • A Catholic MP who was denied communion by his priest for supporting same-sex marriage, says his faith has been used as a "political football" and his young family has stopped attending mass altogether as a result....

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Petition Urges Bush to Nominate Conservative to Supreme Court
         Agape Press by Allie Martin and Jody Brown

  • A petition with tens of thousands of signatures from concerned Christians urging the president to select a conservative nominee to the Supreme Court will be delivered later this week.

    For weeks now, the Center for Reclaiming America has allowed citizens to sign the online "Judicial Vacancy" petition. So far, more than 200,000 people have signed the document, which calls on President Bush to select a nominee who will uphold the original meaning of the Constitution and defend the right of people to publicly acknowledge God....

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Same-sex marriage legislation Pyrrhic victory
         London Free Press by Salim Mansur

  • The whole range of consequences, especially the unintended ones, flowing from any legislation engaged in social engineering can never be predicted in its entirety....

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Factions line up for two Texas Hispanics
         Houston Chronicle by Michael Hedges

  • WASHINGTON - The two Texas conservative Hispanics seen as among the front-runners for a U.S. Supreme Court nomination are drawing support from different ends of the political spectrum. Many conservative activists back federal appeals Judge Emilio Garza, while liberals and moderates see U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as a less extreme option....

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Supreme Court Scorcher
         Boston Globe by Joan Vennochi

  • His father might call it ''tension city." George W. Bush is under intense pressure from conservatives who returned him to the White House.

    ''It's Armageddon," proclaimed Boston radio talk show host Jay Severin about President Bush's pending Supreme Court nominee. Severin, the host of ''Extreme Games" (96.9-WTTK), went on to deride Senator Kennedy as ''a fat piece of lying garbage" for suggesting in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post that this is an opportunity for Bush ''to unite us."...

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Guilford group seeks use of various religious texts for oaths
         Associated Press by Staff

  • A group of leaders from different faiths has asked a Guilford County judge to allow texts from various religions to be used for courtroom oaths.

    The requests follows the judge's rejection of a request to use the Muslim holy book, the Quran, for such oaths....

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Christian Pastor on Trial in China for Printing Bibles
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Patrick Goodenough

  • The pastor of an underground Protestant church in China appeared before a Beijing court Thursday, accused of illegally printing more than 200,000 Bibles and other Christian books....

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A New Face for Gay Pride
         ChronWatch by Sharon Hughes

  • Gay Pride was celebrated once again in the streets of America last week as part of June’s Gay Pride Month. Here in San Francisco, home of the largest gay parade, this year while some chose to express their political and sexual agenda visually, a different face was also being presented. Instead of the usual dominant "in your face" activist, sexually explicit show, it was "all about families." ...

    Many of the participants were dressed in regular clothes, pushing toddlers in strollers, or walking holding hands. The message found in books we’ve all heard about that are being used in kindergarten and other classrooms, such as "Heather Has Two Mommies," found expression as little kids carried signs saying, "I love both my mommies." Or, as in the picture below, in the linking of homosexual union to issues of cultural and ethnic diversity....

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UMC Bishop Pulls Rank on Local Pastor for Denying Homosexual Membership
         Agape Press by Jim Brown

  • A conservative United Methodist activist is speaking out against the suspension of a Virginia Methodist minister who refused to admit a self-avowed, practicing homosexual as a member of his congregation.

    Last month, Bishop Charlene Kammerer of the United Methodist Church (UMC) Virginia Annual Conference intervened in the case and declared that Pastor Edward Johnson was obligated to accept a homosexual man as a member of South Hill Methodist Church. After Johnson declined, Kammerer placed him on an involuntary leave of absence until he complies with her request....

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Arkansas Gifted Program Angers Parents With Explicit Homosexual Curriculum
         Agape Press by Jim Brown

  • A spokesman for Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says students should not have been exposed to a sexually explicit play at a summer educational program for the state's gifted high school seniors.

    Some parents of students at the Arkansas Governor's School (AGS) in Conway recently expressed outrage that their children were asked to read from the script of a homosexual soap opera called "Angels in America" and discuss it in class....

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July 6, 2005

Thought for Today:

 When the principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then the battle is your calling, and peace has become sin. You must at the price of dearest peace lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy with all the fire of your faith.

(Abraham Kuyper)


Articles

G.O.P. Asks Conservative Allies to Cool Rhetoric Over the Court
         The New York Times by DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and CARL HULSE

  • WASHINGTON - The White House and the Senate Republican leadership are pushing back against pressure from some of their conservative allies about the coming Supreme Court nomination, urging them to stop attacking Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales as a potential nominee and to tone down their talk of a culture war....

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Archaeologists on the uninhabited...
         Ekathimerini by Staff

  • Archaeologists on the uninhabited islet of Despotiko near the Cycladic island of Antiparos have uncovered the remnants of ancient dwellings dating back to the Archaic era, which they described as ‘exceptional.’...

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July 5, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Can you count the stars of evening that are shining in the sky?
Can you count the clouds that daily, over all the world go by?
God the Lord, who doth not slumber, keepeth all their boundless number.
But he careth more for thee, but he careth more for thee.

 (from "Can You Count the Stars?" by Johann Hey)


Articles

United Church of Christ Backs Gay Marriage
         Associated Press by Doug Gross

  • ATLANTA - The United Church of Christ's rule-making body voted overwhelmingly Monday to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian denomination to do so.

    The vote is not binding on individual churches, but could cause some congregations to leave the fold....

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July 4, 2005

Thought for Today:

 The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.

 (from "The Sands of Time Are Sinking" by Anne R. Cousin)


Articles

Liberals ready to abandon US right to abortion
         London Sunday Observer by Gaby Wood

  • Last autumn, in the midst of a presidential election, America's Democrats were fighting furiously to protect what they described as a constitutional right - to have an abortion.

    But in an extraordinary turn of events, some argue that it is the single issue standing in the way of their election prospects. They are daring to say what once was regarded as heresy - that it is time to let the argument go.

    Abortion may still be the most divisive issue in the US, but in a move indicative of creeping conservatism, Democrats now seem happy to amend - even relinquish - their position on it....

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The Right's Moment, Years in the Making
         The Washington Post by Thomas B. Edsall and Dana Milbank

  • With the Supreme Court vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the conservative movement has within its grasp the prize it has sought for more than 40 years: the control of all levers of the federal government.

    From the ashes of Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign, conservatives have built an enduring governing majority, with Republicans winning seven of 10 presidential contests and holding unified control of Congress for 11 years....

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Albanians Vote in Key Test of Transition
         Associated Press by Llazar Semini

  • TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Albanians chose a new parliament on Sunday in elections that mark a crucial step in the tiny Balkan country's push for closer ties with Europe and a test of its ability to hold a free and fair ballot....

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Will of the people has been thwarted
         Calgary Sun by Ted Byfield

  • A sizable number of Canadians -- more than half of us, in fact, if the polls are correct -- will be celebrating the Canada Day weekend this year with distinctly diminished enthusiasm.

    That's because on June 28, three days before Canada Day, our House of Commons voted 154-124 to make Canada the third nation on Earth to legally recognize as a marriage the union of two people of the same sex....

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So What's the 'Right' Pick?
         The New York Times by Jeffrey Rosen

  • WHEN Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her intention to resign from the Supreme Court, President Bush promised to nominate a successor who would "faithfully interpret the Constitution."

    He is widely expected to appoint a judicial conservative, but the crucial question for the country is what kind of judicial conservative....

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Southern forests, including the Cumberland Plateau, gain protection
         Associated Press by Pamela Hamilton

  • COLUMBIA, S.C. — One of the nation's largest newsprint manufacturers agreed yesterday to stop clearing hardwood forests to plant the pine trees it uses to make its products.

    Bowater Inc., the largest newsprint manufacturer in the South, owns forests in Tennessee, Alabama and North Carolina, according to the company's Web site. More than a quarter of its 380,000 acres of Southern forests are located on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, according to the agreement made with two national environmental advocacy groups.

    The firm said it now clears as much as 500 acres each year of hardwood forests and replaces them with pines, or softwood, that the company turns into paper for newspapers and magazines, as well as pulp and lumber products....

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July 3, 2005

Thought for Today:

 I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.

 (Martha Washington)


Articles


Conservative Groups Rally Against Gonzales as Justice
         The New York Times by ADAM NAGOURNEY, TODD S. PURDUM and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

  • WASHINGTON - Within hours after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's announced retirement from the Supreme Court, members of conservative groups around the country convened in five national conference calls in which, participants said, they shared one big concern: heading off any effort by President Bush to nominate his attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales to replace her....

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World's ugliest dog keeps winning streak alive
         Associated Press by Staff

  • The owners of the other contestants in this year's World's Ugliest Dog Contest may have thought their pooches had a chance - until they saw Sam.

    The 14-year-old pedigreed Chinese crested recently won the Sonoma-Marin Fair contest in Petaluma for the third consecutive time, and it's no surprise....

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Gay-rights foes turn in petitions to force vote
         Portland (Maine) Press Herald by Paul Carrier

  • AUGUSTA — Opponents of a new state law that would protect homosexuals from discrimination on the job and elsewhere say they have enough public support to ask voters to repeal the law in a Nov. 8 referendum. On Tuesday, the Coalition for Marriage submitted petitions to the state containing what leaders described as more than 57,000 voter signatures. That is far more than the 50,519 needed to set up a "people's veto" referendum on Election Day, although it remains to be seen how many signatures the state will certify as valid....

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July 2, 2005

Thought for Today:

 He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.

(Isaiah 25:8)


Articles

Justice O'Connor retires
         The Washington Times by Charles Hurt

  • Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement from the high court today, kicking off what promises to be an acrimonious summer confirmation fight over her successor....

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Supreme Court Justice O’Connor Resigns -- The Battle to Restore America’s Religious and Moral Foundations Begins
         Thomas More Law Center by Staff

  • ANN ARBOR, MI — Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, in a surprising announcement today, has formally offered her resignation from the Supreme Court. O’Connor, 75, has been the center of much scrutiny and criticism for her role as a swing vote on key moral issues.

    Richard Thompson, President & Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center stated, ”This is an opportunity to take back our Constitution from the ACLU. This is an opportunity for our nation to restore the religious and moral values that were lost during decades of judicial activism by the Supreme Court. ”...

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Illinois Man Claims Company Fired Him for Opposing Homosexuality
         Agape Press by Allie Martin

  • A former employee of Allstate has sued the insurance company, claiming he was fired because he wrote an article that was critical of homosexual "marriage."

    Back in December, J. Matt Barber was working as a manager in Allstate's Corporate Security Division at the company's headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois. At the same time, he wrote a regular column for several conservative Internet sites....

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Great Falls prayer battle garners support of town
         The Herald (Rock Hill, SC) by Denyse Clark

  • GREAT FALLS -- Many town residents were talking Wednesday about their support for the Town Council in its efforts to name Jesus Christ in meeting prayers.

    At church, around town, in restaurants and in gas stations, people were talking about the case that pitted resident Darla Wynne against the council, which had, before the suit, invoked Jesus' name in pre-meeting prayers....

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Liberty Counsel Hopes Court Strikes Down School Policy Banning Pro-Life Literature
         Agape Press by Allie Martin

  • A federal judge is set to render a decision regarding a public school student's request to hand out pro-life flyers to her friends.

    Two years ago, Michelle Heinkel wanted to distribute flyers to her friends at her middle school at Fort Myers, Florida, announcing the annual "Day of Remembrance." However, the superintendent of the Lee County School District denied the student's request because of the nature of the flyers....

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Chronology of Legislative and Judicial Activist Path of Same-Sex “Marriage” in Canada
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • OTTAWA – The following chronology traces Canada’s legislative and judicial activist path to Tuesday’s landmark passage of Bill C-38, the Liberal government’s same-sex “marriage” legislation.

    In 1969, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, claiming, “The State has no place in the bedrooms of the nation,” declares sodomy legal....

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Same-Sex Couple Accuses Innkeepers of Discrimination
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Susan Jones

  • Should a Vermont couple, wedding planners, be forced to host a same-sex civil union ceremony at their family-owned inn, if they object to such unions?

    A lesbian couple says yes, and it has filed a discrimination charge against the innkeepers, accusing them of violating Vermont's Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act....

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July 1, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.

(I Peter 5:6-7)


Articles

Spain Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
         The Washington Post by Jennifer Green

  • MADRID, The Spanish parliament approved a same-sex marriage law Thursday, handing a major victory to the governing Socialist Party and angering such opponents as the Roman Catholic Church, which denounced the measure as "unjust."

    Spain's action follows similar moves by the Netherlands and Belgium, where same-sex marriage has been legal for some time. On Tuesday, Canada's House of Commons also passed a gay marriage bill, which now awaits Senate approval. Several European countries have sanctioned civil unions for homosexual couples....

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Thou shalt not commit religion
         Universal Press Syndicate by Ann coulter

  • To put the Supreme Court's recent ban on the Ten Commandments display in perspective, here is a small sampling of other speech that has been funded in whole or in part by taxpayers:

    Graphic videos demonstrating how to put a condom on and pep talks by "Planned Parenthood educators." – sex education classes at public schools across the nation

    Qurans distributed to aspiring terrorists at Guantanamo. – U.S. military...

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June 30, 2005

Thought for Today:

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23)


Articles

Fish whopper: 646 pounds a freshwater record
         MSNBC by Staff

  • Thai fishermen netted a catfish as big as a grizzly bear, setting a world record for the largest freshwater fish ever found, according to researchers who studied the 646-pound Mekong giant catfish as part of a project to protect large freshwater fish....

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Justices uphold California domestic partner law
         Associated Press by David Kravets

  • SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Gays and lesbians won a major legal victory Wednesday when the California Supreme Court let stand a new law granting registered domestic partners many of the same rights and protections of heterosexual marriage.

    Without comment, the unanimous justices upheld appellate and trial court rulings that the sweeping measure does not conflict with a voter-approved initiative defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman....

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Canadian Conservatives Vow to Continue Fight Against Same-Sex 'Marriage'
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Howard Williams

  • Ottawa - The leader of Canada's official opposition Conservative Party is pledging to continue the battle against same-sex "marriage" in Canada even though parliament has approved it.

    Before leaving for a delayed summer parliamentary recess, Stephen Harper vowed to make same-sex "marriage" an issue at the next general election. Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to call an election for next February or March....

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June 29, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Thy word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.

 (Psalms 119:105)


Articles

Canadian parliament approves same-sex marriage
         Reuters by Staff

  • OTTAWA - The Canadian Parliament on Tuesday approved legislation to allow same sex marriages across the country, making Canada only the third nation in the world to permit such unions.

    Despite fierce opposition from conservatives and religious groups, legislators voted by 158-133 to back the legislation drawn up by the minority Liberal government....

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Souter House To Be Seized by Weare, NH?
         The conservative Voice by

  • On Monday, Freestar Media reported that the Towne of Weare, NH intends to file plans to erect a hotel on the property currently holding Supreme Court Justice David Souter’s home. It is reported that on Monday, Logan Darrow Clements faxed a request to the code enforcement officer of the Towne of Weare, NH “seeking to start the application process to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road”, Souter’s current residence....

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Boffins create zombie dogs
         NEWS.com.au by Nick Buchan

  • SCIENTISTS have created eerie zombie dogs, reanimating the canines after several hours of clinical death in attempts to develop suspended animation for humans.

    US scientists have succeeded in reviving the dogs after three hours of clinical death, paving the way for trials on humans within years....

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June 28, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Lay Down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end

Sleep now
Dream-of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across a distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away.

Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping

 (From "Into the West" by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox)


Reflections on the Ten Commandments--Part One

Consider the early part of our country’s history. About half of the original colonies had state churches. Those whose state church was the Church of England quickly abandoned the policy of having a state church after the Revolutionary War, since this country was no longer England.

But the idea of a state church for a state (as opposed to the idea of a state church for the nation as a whole) was neither disparaged nor abandoned. In fact, Congregationalism remained the state church of Massachusetts until the 1830's. And it doesn’t seem to have been abandoned because of any trepidations about its constitutionality. One of the major factors appears to have been the growth of Presbyterianism in the state to the point that the Presbyterians were beginning to outnumber the Congregationalists.

So, if a state could at one time tax its citizens to support a state church, how have we degenerated to the point that we cannot even post a copy of the Ten Commandments in a court house?

Reflections on the Ten Commandments--Part Two

I have always had mixed feelings about the Ten Commandments issue. Politically, I have had a great deal of sympathy for those who have argued in favor of the posting of the Ten Commandments. (This is largely due to my disgust with the growing anti-religious bias of our culture.)

However, theologically, I have had some misgivings. The issue of the Ten Commandments, along with the broader issue of the Old Covenant vs. the New Covenant, is one of the most widely misunderstood and mistaught issues in our present-day religious communities.

The Ten Commandments are part of the Old Covenant, which was given to the nation of Israel. The Old Covenant, with all of its legal demands, was abolished at the Cross. Most of the concepts in the Ten Commandments are renewed and reiterated in the New Covenant——Sabbath-day observance with its obligations and associated punishments being the lone exception.

The Ten Commandments have become a political symbol for our times. But we need to understand the complete story as well. A (very) brief synopsis follows:

The Old Covenant, of which the Ten Commandments were a part, is no longer binding today.

''...by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances...'' (Ephesians 2:15)

''...having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross.'' (Colossians 2:13-14)

''In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.'' (Hebrews 8:13)

''He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.'' (Hebrews 10:10)

(See also Jeremiah 31:31-34.)

The Old Testament is not our authority in religion for today. It is valuable for our learning, but it is not our law.


Articles

Mixed Rulings on Ten Commandments
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Stephen Mbogo

  • In the now-familiar 5-4 ruling Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that two Kentucky courtrooms may not display framed copies of the Ten Commandments. But in a separate Texas case – also a 5-4 ruling -- the Supreme Court said Ten Commandments displays are allowed on public land....

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Decision to bar display of faith ratchets up culture war
         Financial Times by Holly Yeager

  • The Supreme Court stepped into one of the most contested fronts of the US culture war on Monday, ruling that the display of framed copies of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky courthouses crossed the constitutional line between church and state.

    The five-to-four decision provoked an angry response from Justice Antonin Scalia, who took the unusual step of reading his dissenting opinion from the bench. “Today's opinion ratchets up this court's hostility to religion,” he said, his voice emotional....

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African Anglicans Make New Push to Split Over Homosexuality Issue
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Stephen Mbogo

  • Nairobi, Kenya - Anglicans in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda have started a process that could lead to a split within the "mother" Church of England over the homosexuality dispute.

    Church leaders in Kenya have signed a document on the Anglican Global Initiative (AGI), which envisages the churches forming a new communion separate from American, Canadian and European churches supporting homosexual ordinations and same-sex "marriage."...

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Recovered Homosexual Speaks at Fundraising Dinner For Persecuted B.C. Teacher, Chris Kempling
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • JORDAN, Ontario – As Presbyterian minister Tristan Emmanuel handed Chris Kempling a check for $18,000, with a promise for $32,000 more to come before the year is through, he encouraged the beleaguered B.C. school teacher, saying “Chris, I want you to realize that God has not forsaken you. God does not forsake his people.”

    With that he pointed out to the large candlelit room, packed with hundreds of Kempling’s many supporters who had each paid $100 for the chance to attend the dinner....

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June 27, 2005

Thought for Today:

 After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson: ``We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?''...

We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with his purpose. Yet his purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.

Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today, to make our country more just and generous, to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.

This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.

(from President George W. Bush's First Inaugural Address; January 20, 2001)


Articles

The Supreme Court Shortlist
         Slate by Emily Bazelon and David Newman

  • Anticipation of the resignation of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, which has been building since his cancer treatment began last fall, will climax next week when the Supreme Court's term ends. The Bush administration has telegraphed that it would like him to step down this summer—long before the November 2006 mid-term congressional elections—and has floated names for his replacement. What views have the president's shortlisters expressed, on and off the bench? In order of our best guess as to the likelihood that they'll be chosen, here's a guide to the prospective nominees' records. (Bush's choice could be selected for the post of chief justice or associate justice, depending on whether he decides to elevate one of the current associates to the top job.)...

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Possible Successors to Chief Justice Rehnquist
         NPR (National Public Radio) by Nina Totenberg

  • As the Supreme Court nears the end of its term, the question many Washington watchers are asking is whether ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist will step down -- and if so, who would replace him. The choice for President Bush is whether to elevate a currently sitting justice. Historically, such appointments are rare. Of the 16 chief justices in American history, only five previously served as associate justices....

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Who May Succeed Rehnquist
         Los Angeles Times by David G. Savage and Richard B. Schmitt

  • WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wraps up its term this week amid intense speculation that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, ailing with cancer, is poised to announce his retirement.

    If he does retire, there is one sure bet: President Bush will get a chance in the weeks ahead to choose a new leader for the Supreme Court, and he will pick a conservative.

    But the kind of conservative the president selects could determine whether there is an epic, summerlong fight over the Supreme Court....

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Candidates for the Supreme Court: Judging the short list
         USA Today by Jonathan Turley

  • With the anticipated retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, speculation is rife on the possible nominees on President Bush's short list. Fortunately for Supreme Court handicappers, Bush has only a couple of simple known criteria. First, he wants ideological consistency. Second, he wants longevity. Short of nominating an embryonic stem cell, the White House would prefer a baby boomer with long-term potential. A few candidates have emerged as leading short-listers....

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TV Network for Gays, Lesbians to Debut
         Associated Press by David Bauder

  • NEW YORK - The man who's molding Logo, the new network for gays and lesbians, grew up in rural Illinois, attended Oral Roberts University and counted that cheesy keyboard solo on "Freeze Frame" as his big moment during gigs with his college band the Ozones. At first glance, Brian Graden hardly seems too hip for the room....

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June 26, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves.

(from President George W. Bush's First Inaugural Address; January 20, 2001)


Articles

Mad at My Mop
         Concerned Women for America by Janice Shaw Crouse

  • I threw the mop on the kitchen floor with a clatter and announced in a voice that could easily be heard throughout the house, if not the whole neighborhood, "I can't believe it. I cannnnooootttt belieeeeeve it!"

    My two college-age kids quickly came running; my husband was not far behind them. Each added to the chorus: "Are you O.K.? What's wrong? What's the matter?"...

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Atheist acknowledging second thoughts
         Associated Press by Richard N. Ostling

  • The Bible never presents arguments for God's existence and simply assumes it from the very first words ("In the beginning God created . . .). Scripture's attitude is, "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God' " (Psalm 14:1).

    But numerous modern philosophers have assailed belief, among them Britain's Antony Flew. He promoted atheism for a half-century as a professor at Oxford, Aberdeen, Keele and Reading universities, in North American lectures and in books and articles.

    But now, somewhat as British physicist Sir Fred Hoyle did, Flew at age 82 is candidly acknowledging second thoughts....

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Gay pride parade is brought to you by ...
         Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Brad Wong

  • If Microsoft Corp. was skittish about supporting gay rights legislation in Olympia, it doesn't seem to have reservations about being a sponsor in tomorrow's gay pride parade in Seattle.

    More than 100 Microsoft employees, including members of the Gay and Lesbian Employees at Microsoft, are expected to march in the parade. The Redmond software company also will have a booth in Volunteer Park as part of the festivities.

    And Microsoft isn't alone....

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June 25, 2005

Thought for Today:

 ...all of us are diminished when any are hopeless.

(from President George W. Bush's First Inaugural Address; January 20, 2001)


Articles

ACLU Now Defends Polygamy, Further Eroding Traditional Marriage
         Agape Press by James L. Lambert

  • In comments at an Ivy League school, the president of the American Civil Liberties Union has indicated that among the "fundamental rights" of people is the right to polygamous relationships -- and that the ACLU has defended and will continue to defend that right.

    In a little-reported speech offered at Yale University earlier this year, ACLU president Nadine Strossen stated that her organization has "defended the right of individuals to engage in polygamy." Yale Daily News says Strossen was responding to a "student's question about gay marriage, bigamy, and polygamy." She continued, saying that her legal organization "defend[s] the freedom of choice for mature, consenting individuals," making the ACLU "the guardian of liberty ... defend[ing] the fundamental rights of all people."...

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Co-op bank bars Christian group
         BBC News by Staff

  • The Co-operative Bank has asked an evangelical Christian group to close its account because of its anti-homosexual views.

    The bank said the opinions of Christian Voice were incompatible with its support for diversity....

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Same-sex marriage ruled legal in N.B.
         The Toronto Star by Sean Gordon

  • OTTAWA—New Brunswick is poised to become the ninth jurisdiction in Canada to recognize civil marriage as a union of "two persons."

    Court of Queen's Bench Justice Judy Clendenning found that the civil definition of marriage should be broadened to include same-sex couples in order to respect their equality rights.

    She gave New Brunswick 10 days to make the necessary administrative changes to allow same-sex couples to marry....

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Allstate Fires Employee for Pro-Family Column Critical of Gay “Marriage”
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • CHICAGO – An employee of the Allstate insurance company has been fired from his job for comments that appeared in a men’s journal denouncing same-sex “marriage,” even though the statement was penned in the employee’s own spare time and from home.

    “I explained to Allstate that the article was a reflection of my personal Christian beliefs, and that I had every right to both write it and to have it published,” J. Matt Barber told WorldNetDaily news. “I further explained that I had written the article while at home on my own time, that I never mentioned Allstate's name and that I neither directly nor indirectly suggested that Allstate shared my Christian beliefs or my views on same-sex marriage.”...

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PTA Welcomes Pro-Homosexual Group, Snubs Rival Group
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Carolyn Bolls

  • Amid a dizzying array of acronyms, a weekend convention of the national Parent-Teacher Association in Ohio will include a homosexual "rights" group, but exclude a group made up in part of individuals who consider themselves former homosexuals....

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Presbyterian group fuels talk of a split
         Associated Press by Richard N. Ostling

  • NEW YORK -- While the Episcopal and United Methodist churches have struggled over homosexuality, another mainline Protestant denomination -- the Presbyterian Church (USA) -- has been relatively quiet. But that is changing.

    Since 2001, Presbyterians have been awaiting recommendations from a ''Peace, Unity, and Purity" task force, charged with seeking a way to overcome severe disagreements on gay relationships and other issues....

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Dirty Tricks in Parliament Pave Way for Gay 'Marriage' Bill Passage Next Week
         LifesiteNews by Staff

  • OTTAWA - The last hurdle standing in the way of passage of the gay 'marriage' bill was swept away last night by political manipulations that make the Canadian Parliament an embarrassment to traditions of democratic process. The vote on the budget Bill C-48 was the final opportunity to bring down the Liberal government and thus defeat the gay 'marriage' legislation. Now, barring a miracle, Bill C-38 will pass next week....

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Appeals court rules against spanking
         Aftenposten (Norway) by Staff

  • A 36-year-old man cleared of violence charges for spanking his children has seen the decision reversed by Gulating court of appeals, newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad reports.

    The original acquittal in Stavanger municipal court attracted attention since violently disciplining children is illegal in Norway....

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June 24, 2005

Thought for Today:

 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the LORD
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

 (Psalms 130:5-6)


Articles

Anglicans show US, Canada the door
         The Australian by Staff

  • THE Anglican Church moved closer to schism yesterday when members of its central administrative council formally asked the churches of Canada and the US to go....

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Kiss Your House Goodbye
         The American Spectator by Christopher Orlet

  • Many Americans are perplexed that it was the liberals on the U.S. Supreme Court, and not the conservatives, who voted 5-4 to affirm Kelo v. City of New London. The decision allows local governments to seize homes and businesses and hand them over to private developers. It shouldn't surprise. Liberals, like their socialist friends, have never been too keen on private property rights. It has been Conservatives that have historically looked out for the rights of the property owner and the taxpayer....

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June 23, 2005

Thought for Today:

 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (I John 3:1a)


Articles

Ruling restricts freedom of speech
         Christianity.ca by Meghan Wood

  • THE B.C. COURT of Appeals has upheld the B.C. Supreme Court's ruling that Chris Kempling committed "conduct unbecoming of a teacher" by publicly expressing his disapproval of homosexuality outside of a school context. The court handed down its decision June 13.

    The BC College of Teachers suspended Kempling because it said the opinions expressed in his writings, mostly letters to the editor of a local newspaper, would have an impact in the school. The Quesnel public school counselor, a Christian, is currently driving a dump truck to pay the bills while he serves a separate suspension for a letter he wrote about the Christian Heritage Party objecting to Bill C-38, the federal government's same-sex marriage bill....

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N.C. judges asked to decide if witnesses can use Quran
         Associated Press by Tim Whitmire

  • CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- State court officers don't plan to act immediately on an Islamic group's request to allow use of the Islamic holy book when administering courtroom oaths, an official said Wednesday.

    "There is no (statewide) policy ... and there is no particular plan in place to write a policy," said Dick Ellis, spokesman for the Administrative Office of the Courts. "We haven't gotten to the point yet that something has to be done."...

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Law Center Defends Louisiana School Board’s Right to Begin Meetings with Prayer
         Thomas More Law Center by Staff

  • ANN ARBOR, MI - The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has submitted a friend of the court brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit supporting the constitutional right of the Tangipahoa Parish School Board in Louisiana to open its meetings with prayers that invoke Divine guidance referencing “God,” Heavenly Father,” and “Jesus.”...

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Polygamist sect leader removed from church trust
         Associated Press by Jennifer Dobner

  • SALT LAKE CITY – All trustees including the reclusive leader of a Mormon splinter group which still practices polygamy were permanently removed Wednesday as managers of the church's multimillion dollar trust fund....

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What's so scary about Christians?
         The Winnipeg Sun by Harry Lehotsky

  • It sent chills up my spine to see the large crew, almost 150 strong. They divided into smaller clusters and systematically moved through the neighbourhood.

    It was amazing that mainstream media missed this invasion of our community....

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Fallbrook literature class opens the Bible in nonreligious course
         San Diego Union-Tribune by J. Harry Jones

  • FALLBROOK – Starting next year, some students at the public high school here will bring their King James version of the Bible with them to class each day.

    They'll use it as a textbook. Their studies will start at Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," and conclude with Revelation 22:21, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."...

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A redemptive response to a troubling need
         Christian Week by Harold Jantz

  • LOVE WON OUT conferences represent a bold foray by Focus on the Family into a debate that has come to occupy much of centre stage within western culture. It's the debate about normalizing homosexual lifestyles and whether change is possible for persons who want to leave lives as gays or lesbians.

    The Love Won Out conference at Calvary Temple in Winnipeg May 14, sponsored by Focus on the Family Canada, drew an attendance of about 400, and argued that homosexuality is both preventable and treatable. Across the street from the church as many as a hundred protesters loudly and often angrily decried the conference and argued otherwise, using bullhorns and epithets....

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Liberals determined to pass same-sex marriage law immediately
         Canadian Press by Alexander Panetta and Bruce Cheadle

  • OTTAWA (CP) - The Liberal government now says it's prepared to declare same-sex marriage a matter of national interest to speed its controversial legislation into law.

    The government will use every available procedural means to pass Bill C-38 before Parliament breaks for the summer, Liberal House leader Tony Valeri said Tuesday. As a last resort, the Liberals would appeal to the Commons Speaker to recall Parliament next week because of two items of national interest: the marriage bill and a piece of federal budget legislation....

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June 22, 2005

Thought for Today:

 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
for you will heap coals of fire on his head,
and the LORD will reward you.

 (Proverbs 25:21-22)


Articles

'This is a miracle' (Part three of three)
         Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Mark Johnson and Kawanze Newson

  • Everyone who entered Jeanna Giese's room at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin wore full isolation gear - gown, gloves, mask and plastic face shield - to avoid any chance of contracting rabies. Early on, as she lay in a coma, the precautions painted an otherworldly scene: more than a dozen friends and relatives cloaked in yellow gowns standing in a prayer circle around her bed....

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Bush calls for gay-marriage amendment
         MSNBC by Alex Johnson

  • NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Reviving a major plank of his re-election campaign, President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Tuesday. The president’s address to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention — the fourth year in a row he has spoken to the conservative evangelical gathering — was crafted to rally the social religious conservatives who make up a crucial part of Bush’s governing coalition....

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Lions Rescue, Guard Beaten Ethiopian Girl
         Associated Press by Anthony Mitchell

  • ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- A 12-year-old girl who was abducted and beaten by men trying to force her into a marriage was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors, a policeman said Tuesday....

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June 21, 2005

Thought for Today:

 We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

(II Corinthians 6:8b-10)


Articles

Buying time against rabies (Part two of three)
         Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Mark Johnson and Kawanze Newson

  • The colorless cocktail of drugs seeped through a tube into Jeanna Giese’s upper thigh, sending her on a long journey into a coma. Thus began the extraordinary effort to save her life.

    Lucretia Quarterman, a pediatric intensive care nurse, checked the 15-year-old girl’s vital signs and wondered whether she would ever awaken.

    In Jeanna’s condition, rabies was always fatal....

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Illinois Family Advocacy Group Lauds ExxonMobil's Stand for Traditional Values
         Agape Press by Jenni Parker and Ed Thomas

  • An Illinois pro-family group that has been raising awareness about companies that support or underwrite the homosexual agenda is commending one major U.S. corporation for refusing to give in to pressure from the homosexual lobby.

    According to the Illinois Family Institute (IFI), ExxonMobil is being targeted by the pro-homosexual group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for declining to extend health benefits to the partners of homosexual employees. The pro-family group notes that ExxonMobil, presently the most profitable company in the United States, is currently the only Fortune 50 company that does not fund "domestic partner" benefits....

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Separate but unequal
         Western Standard (Canada) by Mark Steyn

  • How many gays does it take to change a light bulb?

    Oh, good heavens, we don’t expect him actually to change the light bulb. All he has to do is hold it up on the lawn at Queen’s Park, while another gay waves a placard saying “DON’T LEAVE CANADA IN THE DARK AGES,” and that should pretty much do it. Two’s company, but two gays are a crowd, at least when it comes to public protests. Stick a couple of gays in a public place courageously demonstrating against our oppressive homophobic society, and we in the media will be over with the cameras and buzzing like moths around a flamer....

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June 20, 2005

Thought for Today:

 What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

 (from ''O Sacred Head'' attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux)

Note: This is one of the several verses generally not sung frequently today. The poem was reportedly written by Bernard of Clairvaux in the mid twelfth century. Today's melody was written by Hans Hansler in 1601. Further verses of ''O Sacred Head'' may be found at this link:

O Sacred Head


What Is Moral? Something to Ponder

(The following article was taken from the church bulletin of the Maryville Church of Christ [Maryville, Tennessee], June 19, 2005. The author is Dan Chambers.)

Not long ago I noticed the following message on the marquee sign of a local church: ''What is moral is what you feel good after.''

In other words, the test for determining whether or not something is ''moral'' is the ''feel-good-test.'' If you do something and you feel good after doing it, then it is moral and okay for you to be doing. On the other hand, if you do something and you feel bad after doing it, then it is immoral and you should not be doing it.

Folks, I am sure the person who put that message on the sign meant well, but that does not change the fact that he or she is absolutely wrong....(cont.)

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June 19, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
and the man who gets understanding,
for the gain from it is better than gain from silver
and its profit better than gold.

 (Proverbs 3:13-14)


Articles

Down to a prayer (Part one of three)
         Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Mark Johnson and Kawanze Newson

  • John and Ann Giese stood at their 15-year-old daughter's bedside, watching her deteriorate. Jeanna had arrived at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin on Oct. 18, weak, feverish, struggling to speak. When doctors questioned her, she could answer only "Yes" or "No." Her left arm, sometimes the whole left side of her body, jerked uncontrollably. Within hours, saliva was flooding her mouth...

    She had yet to be diagnosed, but her body seemed to be following a textbook rabies case....

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Descendant of Cades Cove pioneer sets example for his family
         The Daily Times (Maryville, TN) by Linda Braden Albert

  • He's a man who uses his words sparingly but well. He's no stranger to hard work. His deep faith is rock solid, as is his commitment to his family.

    Hugh Myers is a blessed man, and he is a blessing to the people who look up to him and call him father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather....

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Evangelical Men Make Great Dads
         Concerned Women for America by Janice Shaw Crouse

  • Choose your measurement –– hugs, spending time with their children and participating in their activities, keeping track of where the kids are, sharing in domestic responsibilities, helping put the children to bed –– and you’ll find that evangelical Protestant men who attend church regularly make the best husbands and fathers in measurable ways....

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June 18, 2005

Thought for Today:

 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (II Corinthians 5:21)


Articles

Appeals Court Reverses Radical Judge's Gender-Bending Ruling
         Agape Press by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker

  • A precedent-setting case in Florida has ended with a court order annulling the marriage between a transsexual who was born female and a biological mother of two children. One pro-family legal expert believes the court's action will have major repercussions.

    The Florida case involved transsexual Michael Kantaras (born Margo Kantaras), who had married a woman (Linda Kantaras) with two biological children of her own. Linda Kantaras later became a Christian and sought to annul the marriage. However, a child custody dispute between the estranged couple had to be resolved in court....

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June 17, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to hearken than the fat of rams.

 (I Samuel 15:22b)


Articles

Teens make a difference during summer vacation
         The Jackson Sun News (Tenn.) by Tajuana Cheshier

  • After the May 2003 tornadoes, Jackson Street resident Mildred Gill prayed to have her hail-damaged home repaired.

    ''I did get a new roof,'' Gill said, standing behind her front-door screen Wednesday morning as 25 volunteers scraped, primed and painted the home she has lived in for the past 25 years....

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'Migaloo' returns to Gold Coast waters
         ABC Online (Australia) by Staff

  • The albino humpback whale known as "Migaloo" has resurfaced off the Gold Coast in south-east Queensland today. The rare white whale is believed to be the only of its kind in the world....


         Note: Here are a couple of additional articles, each with a picture:

         Migaloo heading for a whale of a time
         Migaloo heads for home turf

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Cable Networks Offer Homosexual Programs 24/7
         Agape Press and American Family Association Journal

  • Three major cable providers are buying into the launch of two new homosexual cable networks that will air homosexual programming around the clock for the first time in U.S. television history.

    In April, Comcast and Cox Communications agreed to offer the homosexual network "Here," put out by Regent Entertainment through their video-on-demand offerings. Viacom will offer its own advertiser-supported homosexual network, "LOGO," as a basic cable channel starting on June 30....

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Library Sued for Requiring 'Balanced View' on Religious Topics
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Susan Jones

  • The Liberty Counsel, a religious freedom watchdog, is suing the Colorado library that refused to let it meet in the library's community room.

    The Woodland Park Library says its community room is "available to nonprofit civic, cultural and educational organizations for events open to the public." But the policy also says, "Meetings open to the public that are religious or political in nature must provide a balanced view and [meet] with the Board of Trustees' approval."...

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Romney to Back Plan to Ban Gay Marriage
         Associated Press by Theo Emery

  • Gov. Mitt Romney said Thursday he will support a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Massachusetts, the only state where it is legal.

    The Legislature was already working on a proposed amendment that would ban gay marriage but also would allow Vermont-style civil unions. The new proposal drops the civil union language, meaning such unions would remain illegal in the state....

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Federal judge in Calif. upholds U.S. gay marriage ban
         Associated Press by Lisa Leff

  • SAN FRANCISCO – Deciding one of the few lawsuits arguing the case for gay marriage in federal court, a California judge on Thursday ruled that a 1996 law recognizing only unions between a man and a woman as valid does not violate the U.S. Constitution.

    But U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor also declined to rule on whether a state ban on same-sex marriage violates the civil rights of a gay Southern California couple while a separate legal challenge to California's laws works its way through the state courts....

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Nash. homosexual TV show has some asking: What can be done?
         BPNews by Michael Foust

  • NASHVILLE, Tenn.--A conservative activist in Nashville, Tenn., is encouraging city residents to contact their CBS affiliate and protest a homosexual-themed program the station is sponsoring.

    NewsChannel 5+, a 24-hour local news and information cable station run by CBS affiliate WTVF, is partnering with the local homosexual newspaper "Out & About" to produce the show, dubbed "Out & About Today."...

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June 16, 2005

Thought for Today:

 This is my Father's world,
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.

 (from "This Is My Father's World" by Maltbie D. Babcock)


Articles

Canadian Courts Approve Suspension of Teacher who Criticized Homosexuality in Letter to Editor
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • VANCOUVER, BC – A ruling handed down yesterday by British Columbia’s highest court has upheld the British Columbia College of Teachers’ (BCCT) decision to temporarily suspend the teaching license of Chris Kempling for writing allegedly discriminatory letters to the editor of a local publication....

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Ruling restricts freedom of speech
         CanadianChristianity.com by Staff

  • THE B.C. COURT of Appeals has upheld the B.C. Supreme Court's ruling that Chris Kempling committed "conduct unbecoming of a teacher" by publicly expressing his disapproval of homosexuality outside of a school context. The court handed down its decision June 13....

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Where Are the Fathers?
         Christianity.ca by Staff

  • Research shows that more and more fathers are absent from their children's lives. Take a look at the stats provided below. This data *1) is a result of surveys conducted in the United States of America, but this information may also reflect trends in our Canadian society.

    An estimated 24.7 million children (36.5 percent) live absent from their biological fathers....

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Orange County Parents force Catholic School Policy Barring Gay “Couples” From School Events
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • COSTA MESA - Parents at a Catholic school in California have moved to protect their children from attempts to normalize homosexuality. Costa Mesa's St. John the Baptist School, in the diocese of Orange, has drafted a policy that would prevent homosexual partners from appearing at school functions as a ‘couple.’

    The LA Times quotes a memo sent out to parents, “Practically speaking this means: The children adopted by a same-sex couple” may enroll “on the condition that the same-sex couple agree not to present themselves as a couple at school functions."...

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Wireless Net users listen up: You're exposed
         Detroit Free Press by Heather Newman

  • We drove down the streets of Ann Arbor, tallying the sins of computer users as we went.

    Jim Haburne from Interlink Networks sat by my side. On his laptop, special software available for free on the Internet picked wireless computer networks out of the air. Each new network we passed generated a metallic chime....

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Transsexual Loses Custody of Kids to Biological Mom
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Jered Ede

  • The lawyer who convinced a Florida mediator to transfer custody of two children from a transsexual to the children's biological mother claims the case sets a "huge precedent" for pro-family advocates....

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Sen. DeWine's son's poor showing raises interest in '06 Senate race
         The Hill by Peter Savodnik

  • Former state Rep. Jean Schmidt yesterday won the Republican primary in Ohio’s 2nd District, beating Sen. Mike DeWine’s son, Pat DeWine, and raising questions about the senator’s own reelection prospects....

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June 14, 2005

Thought for Today:

 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

(Lamentations 3:22-24)


Articles

The lost boys, thrown out of US sect so that older men can marry more wives
         The Guardian (U.K.), by Julian Borger

  • Up to 1,000 teenage boys have been separated from their parents and thrown out of their communities by a polygamous sect to make more young women available for older men, Utah officials claim.

    Many of these "Lost Boys", some as young as 13, have simply been dumped on the side of the road in Arizona and Utah, by the leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), and told they will never see their families again or go to heaven....

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Roman mosaic 'worthy of Botticelli'
         The Times (London) by Dalya Alberge

  • A spectacular Roman mosaic discovered in Libya has been hailed as one of the finest examples of the artform to have survived....

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Italians discover hoard of Roman statues
         The Art Newspaper by Edek Osser

  • CYRENE. An Italian team of archaeologists has discovered 76 intact Roman statues at Cyrene in Libya. The discovery is remarkable because the site, once a thriving Greek and then Roman settlement, has been under excavation for the last 150 years....

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Endangered condors soar over Grand Canyon
         Associated Press by Michelle Roberts

  • GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. -- The South Rim of the Grand Canyon has long been a favorite of human visitors gawking at the stunning views and taking advantage of the manmade services. As it turns out, the South Rim also is a favorite of endangered California condors -- for many of the same reasons. The large birds often gather to watch people, socialize with one another and drink from a leaky water pipe....

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Gay Activists Claim Opposition to Gay “Marriage” Exempts Churches from Charitable Tax Status
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • OTTAWA – Homosexual activist Kevin Bourassa, co-sponsor of equalmarriage.ca, along with his “spouse,” Joe Varnell – whose Ontario court win paved the way for same-sex “marriage” for Canada – claimed Sunday that churches who vocally oppose the legalization of same-sex “marriage” for Canada should have their charitable status revoked, for participating in politics....

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June 13, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Blessed is he who considers the poor!
The LORD delivers him in the day of trouble;

 (Psalms 41:1)


Articles

One Night Changes a Life, and Calif. Town
         Associated Press by Tim Dahlberg

  • CLOVIS, Calif. - The chant began late in the fourth quarter in the basketball gym at Clovis East High. The students started it first, clapping their hands in unison and pounding the bleachers with their feet. It didn't take long for the parents to pick it up, too. The noise grew until the whole gym seemed to shake. "We want Ryno. We want Ryno." ...

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Scouts granted right to dob-dob for Allah
         The Times (U.K.) by Colin Gray and Camillo Fracassini

  • FOR Scouts, it has been as much a part of their movement as jamborees, woggles and the three-fingered salute. Now, after a century, the Scout Association has ditched its traditional pledge of loyalty “to God and to the Queen” in favour of a series of multicultural options....

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June 12, 2005

Thought for Today:

 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day.
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
 (II Corinthians 4:16-18)


Articles

Henry warns of growth in religious intolerance
         Canadian Catholic News by Deborah Gyapong

  • Calgary Bishop Fred Henry warned of a growing religious intolerance in Canada when he appeared as a witness before the legislative committee studying same-sex marriage June 6.

    "We're into a changed social reality that is hostile to religious belief," Henry said, citing a threatening phone call from Revenue Canada and two recent human rights complaints against him as threats to his freedom of expression and religion belief....

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Wildlife Officials Net Rare White Muskie
         Associated Press by Robert Imrie

  • WAUSAU, Wis. - This is indeed a fish story — not about the one that got away but about a rare one. A white muskellunge is swimming in the waters of Lake Tomahawk, in the northern part of the state. State fisheries experts captured it in nets during a population survey in April and released it back into the lake....

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Found: Europe's oldest civilisation
         The Independent (U.K.) by David Keys

  • Archaeologists have discovered Europe's oldest civilisation, a network of dozens of temples, 2,000 years older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.

    More than 150 gigantic monuments have been located beneath the fields and cities of modern-day Germany, Austria and Slovakia. They were built 7,000 years ago, between 4800BC and 4600BC....

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June 11, 2005

Thought for Today:

 And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment.
He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.

 (Revelation 21:5-7)


Articles

Donuts and Aging
         Christianity.ca by Phil Callaway

  • Recently I turned 43. My wife threw a little cheese cake party, invited some friends and handed me a birthday card. On the front it said, "A little birdie told me how old you are." Inside, the "little birdie" was sitting by the bedside of a wrinkled old man.

    The bird was a vulture.

    My friends thought this was the funniest thing they'd seen in weeks. They passed it around and snickered and snorted. They laughed until they could barely hang on to their walkers....

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Possible Supreme Court Nominees
         Associated Press by Staff

  • Some possible Supreme Court nominees if Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist steps down:

    -James Harvie Wilkinson III, appointed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., by President Reagan in 1984. He has built a solidly conservative record....

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'Love Won Out' Offers Way Out for Those Entrapped by Homosexuality
         Agape Press by Allie Martin

  • A conference aimed at uncovering the truth about homosexuality takes place in Seattle later this month. Focus on Family is sponsoring its "Love Won Out" conference in the northwest metropolis on June 25.

    Focus on the Family promotes the message that homosexuality is both preventable and treatable -- and maintains that such a message is "routinely silenced" these days. To overcome that obstacle, the Colorado Springs-based ministry sponsors one-day "Love Won Out" conferences at venues around the country that feature former homosexuals and other experts who tackle a wide variety of questions about the subject -- such as, Can homosexuality be prevented? Is it genetic? and What causes homosexuality?...

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Invasion Threatens the Beauty of Our Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (The Conservancy Identifies the Top 10 Invasive Threats to the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment)
         The Nature Conservancy by Staff

  • Greenville, S.C.——Invasive species are sweeping across the three-state Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment region, with potential to permanently alter the natural beauty and diversity of this globally important region. Often introduced for their aesthetic qualities, invasive species are animals, plants and diseases introduced into the environment that damage land and waters on which we all depend. Only development poses a greater threat to habitat loss on the planet....

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June 10, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

 (Isaiah 40:1-2)


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Note: Sidney Goldberg, husband of Lucianne Goldberg and father of Jonah Goldberg, died yesterday.

I did not have the opportunity to know Mr. Goldberg. I have had a few brief communications with Mrs. Goldberg via e-mail. She has always been incredibly gracious. Reports from those who knew Sidney Goldberg indicate that he possessed similar attributes. That being so, he will be deeply missed, especially by those who knew him best.

Articles

3 More Appellate Court Judges Confirmed by Senate
         The Washington Post by Charles Babington

  • The Senate yesterday confirmed three more appellate court nominees who had long been stymied by Democratic filibusters, giving President Bush another victory from a bipartisan accord that averted a partisan showdown over judicial appointments....

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Who will be Bush's Supreme Court nominee?
         MSNBC by Tom Curry

  • WASHINGTON - The last day of the Supreme Court’s term — often a day on which justices announce their retirements — is three weeks away. Anticipation is building in Washington that President Bush will soon have his first opportunity to fill a court vacancy....

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Canadian Government Admits Religions Not Protected Under Federal Gay ‘Marriage’ Legislation
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • OTTAWA – Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler admitted Wednesday that, under the proposed Liberal same-sex “marriage” bill being fast-tracked through parliament, there would be no guarantees of protection for religious organizations that refuse to “marry” homosexuals....

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Kraft Says It Proudly Supports The Gay Games
         American Family Association by Donald E. Wildmon

  • Kraft Inc. is sponsoring the upcoming Gay Games in Chicago. I want to show you what Kraft proudly supports. But before I do that, you need to read what Marc Firestone, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Kraft Foods Inc., said in refusing to cancel their sponsorship....

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Activists Priming for Supreme Court Battle
         Associated Press by Deb Riechmann

  • WASHINGTON (AP) -- Activists on the right and left are priming for a battle supreme. If President Bush nominates the first new Supreme Court justice in more than a decade, a fight is expected to break out within hours of an announcement....

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June 9, 2005

Thought for Today:

 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

 (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Articles

Intolerance in the Bible Belt
         The Washington Times by Staff

  • How many parents have pleaded with their child to read? Anything? In Knoxville, Tenn., a 10-year-old chose to spend his recess time reading the Bible with fellow classmates. In the opinion of most sensible observers, the studious boy represents a refreshing departure from usual grade-school behavior. Instead of bullying, fighting or other typical recess pastimes, Luke Whitson was reading. But his choice of literature has stirred the constitutional and cultural sensitivities of a public school principal....

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Judge orders St. Augustine to fly gay pride flags
         Associated Press by Staff

  • ST. AUGUSTINE -- For the next six days, 49 rainbow flags will flutter on the Bridge of Lions after a three-year battle by gay rights organizations.

    U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. ruled Tuesday against the city in a suit filed by the Rev. Ruth Jensen and Vicki Waldon of the St. Augustine Pride Committee, Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The city rejected a request last month to fly the flags for a week of gay-pride events....

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Canadian Bishop Details Government Threats Over Church Teaching on Same-Sex ‘Marriage’
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • OTTAWA - In House of Commons committee hearings on the same-sex ‘marriage’ Bill C-38 Monday, Calgary Bishop Fred Henry revealed details of threats levelled against him by government officials for putting forward Church teaching.

    Bishop Henry described in detail how he was called by Terry De Marche of Revenue Canada after issuing a pastoral letter which pointed out to his diocese that the media’s description of Prime Minister Paul Martin as a “devout Catholic” was inappropriate due to Martin’s support for abortion and gay ‘marriage’ legislation....

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Are public schools the next battleground over homosexuality?
         BP News by Michael Foust

  • NASHVILLE, Tenn. --As illustrated children's books go, "King & King" starts off innocently enough: "On the tallest mountain above the town lived a queen, the young prince, and the crown kitty. The queen had ruled for many long years and she was tired of it."...

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Professor Who Belittled Believers Drops Bid To Head Up a Department
         The New York Sun by Jacob Gershman

  • A Brooklyn College professor who described religious people as "moral retards" said he is dropping his bid to become chairman of the department of sociology after the college's president expressed outrage over his views.

    Timothy Shortell, an associate professor in the sociology department at the CUNY senior college, sent a bitter e-mail on Monday to several departmental heads saying he had decided to step down as chairman-elect and claiming he was a victim of a political attack....

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Gay Rights Battlefields Spread to Public Schools
         The New York Times by Michael Janofsky

  • Emboldened by the political right's growing influence on public policy, opponents of school activities aimed at educating students about homosexuality or promoting acceptance of gays and lesbians are mounting challenges to such programs, at individual schools, at statehouses and in Congress....

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June 8, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Therefore we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
For if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:1-3a)

Articles

When Your Job Won't Make Ends Meet
         Christianity Today by Steven Gertz

  • Entrepreneur Dan Miller says starting and running a business on the side can get you out of a real financial hole, and it may not be as difficult or costly as you think....Sometimes balancing your personal budget is just a matter of cutting unnecessary expenses. But sometimes your budget really does need a boost in income, perhaps via a side business. Start thinking about ways to launch that business, though, and you face significant hurdles....

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Judge Rules Sex-Ed Curriculum Violates 1st Amendment
         Human Events by Phyllis Schlafly

  • A federal judge in Montgomery County, Md., has issued a temporary restraining order to stop the teaching of a sex-education course because it violates the First Amendment. I can't remember any other case in the last 30 years in which a judge sided with parents against a curriculum adopted by a school board....

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Same-sex unions decried
         Associated Press by Nicole Winfield

  • ROME — Pope Benedict XVI condemned same-sex unions as anarchic "pseudo-matrimony" Monday and reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to abortion.

    Benedict repeatedly referred to marriage as a union between man and woman in an address to a conference of the Diocese of Rome on the role of the family held at St. John Lateran basilica....

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June 7, 2005

Thought for Today:

 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;
since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;
it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.

 (Romans 3:21-26)

Articles

Rossi won't appeal judge's decision
         The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) by Staff

  • Republican Dino Rossi is abandoning his quest to overturn Gov. Christine Gregoire's victory last fall.

    The former state lawmaker from Bellevue said he won't appeal today's decision by Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges....

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Yet Another Study Confirms Gay Life Expectancy 20 Years Shorter
         LifeSiteNews.com by Staff

  • A new study which analyzed tens of thousands of gay obituaries and compared them with AIDS deaths data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), has shown that the life expectancy for homosexuals is about twenty years shorter than that of the general public. The study, entitled “Gay obituaries closely track officially reported deaths from AIDS”, has been published in Psychological Reports (2005;96:693-697)....

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What's Wrong with the Boy Scouts?
         Radiofree West Hartford by Hans Zeiger

  • Are the Boy Scouts of America really so awful that they are no longer welcome in our schools? On June 1, the Portland (Maine) School Committee voted six to three to ban the Boy Scouts from distributing promotional literature to students. The committee argues that it wishes to uphold its commitment to diversity and nondiscrimination. Far from doing so, the committee has discriminated against one of the most diverse and valuable organizations in America....

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Chattanooga Fireman Catches Probable World Record Fish
         The Chattanoogan by Richard Simms

  • JJ Rorex is a Chattanooga fireman proudly serving the city at Firehall #14 in St. Elmo. Given the slightest amount of opportunity, firemen are well-known for giving each other large doses of grief around the firehall.

    I'm betting that his firefighting friends will soon have a new nickname for Rorex… something along the lines of "Carp Catcher."...

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Wash. Judge Upholds Gubernatorial Vote
         Associated Press by Rebecca Cook

  • A judge Monday upheld Democrat Christine Gregoire's victory in the closest race for governor in U.S. history, rejecting Republican claims that last fall's election was stolen through errors and fraud.

    The election — decided by an amazingly close 129 votes out of 2.9 million cast — included 1,678 illegally cast ballots, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges found. But he said Republicans failed to prove that GOP candidate Dino Rossi would have won if those votes had been disregarded....

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Prohibition of Bible Reading at Recess Results in Lawsuit
         Agape Press by Jim Brown

  • A Tennessee elementary school is being sued for barring a ten-year-old boy from reading his Bible during recess. Knox County School officials have been served with a federal lawsuit alleging they violated the free-speech rights of fourth-grader Luke Whitson. The young student was recently prohibited from reading his Bible with a few friends on the playground at Karns Elementary School in Knoxville. The school claims recess is not "free time," but in fact instructional time -- and thus, the Bible reading during recess violates the so-called separation of church and state....

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Judge Will Hear Arguments on Military's Homosexual Ban
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Susan Jones

  • Oral arguments are expected to take place July 6 in a case challenging the constitutionality of the federal government's ban on homosexuals serving openly in the U.S. military.

    A homosexual advocacy group, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, filed a legal challenge last December, in an attempt to overturn the Clinton-era law.

    Next month, a federal judge in Boston will hear arguments on the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed on behalf of 12 former service members discharged from the military under the homosexual ban....

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June 6, 2005

Thought for Today:

 There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.... Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master's, ceased to trouble him. He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo's side, and putting away all fear he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep.

(Sam Gamgee while in Mordor in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)

Articles

Texas Gov. Signs Bill at Church School
         The Washington Post by Jamie Stengle

  • FORT WORTH, Texas -- In a ceremony filled with religious references, Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill at a church school gymnasium Sunday that imposes more limits on late-term abortions and requires minors to get written parental consent for abortions....

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Bird-dogging the ivory-billed woodpecker
         St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Tom Uhlenbrock

  • BRINKLEY, Ark. – Before we glided our kayaks into a bayou of the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Arkansas, Gene Sparling warned that the chances of seeing the ivory-billed woodpecker were slim to none.

    "And a whole lot closer to none," he said....

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Farmer in Hot Water After Shooting Deer
         Associated Press by Sean Murphy

  • OKLAHOMA CITY -- Michael Crossland didn't have much time to celebrate when he shot what is expected to be the largest whitetail deer ever killed in Oklahoma _ a monster buck with a 31-point set of antlers worth thousands of dollars.

    Instead, the antlers were seized by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and a charge of hunting without permission was filed against him. If convicted, he could be fined, face jail time, or both....

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June 5, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Time is filled with swift transition
Naught of earth unmoved can stand
Build your hope on things eternal
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

 (from "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand" by Jennie Wilson)

Articles

Cinderella Man: Cheering the Good in Bad Times
         Agape Press by Marc T. Newman

  • When Rocky first took to the ring against Apollo Creed, he fought to prove that he "weren't just another bum from the neighborhood." By the time he finally touched gloves with Drago in Rocky IV, Rocky had become a transcendent cold-war international peace icon, telling everyone that "If I can change, and he can change, maybe everybody can change!" Boxing has always been a substitute for battle -- whether we war against personal demons or political police states. The horrific beauty of boxing, as it is portrayed in film, is its intimacy: two solitary combatants, slugging it out, vying for ascendancy -- metaphors for something outside the ring....

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Cuneiform tablets and royal stamp unearth in northeast Syria
         ArabicNews.com by Staff

  • The Syrian-Belgian joint excavation mission in northeast Syria has recently discovered some cuneiform tablets dating back to the neo Assyrian king in the Mesopotamia Shamshi Adad, 1800 BC, as well it unearthed the king personal stamp....

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Pro-Family Leaders Unite Against AFL-CIO's Pro-Same-Sex-Marriage Resolution
         Agape Press by Jenni Parker

  • A broad coalition of religious and family values organizations went toe-to-toe with Big Labor this week, demanding in a letter to American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Unions (AFL-CIO) president John Sweeney that union officials rescind a recent resolution supporting homosexual "marriage."...

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June 3, 2005

Thought for Today:

 "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."

---Teddy Roosevelt

Articles

Saudi religious police arrest 8 Christians
         WorldNetDaily by Staff

  • Saudi Arabia's religious police arrested eight Christians, including one who was beaten in front of his 5-year-old son, according to a Washington, D.C.-based human rights group.

    International Christian Concern says Chittirical John Thomas, an Indian national, was pulled from work in Riyadh by Saudi Muttawa authorities, dragged to his home and beaten.

    In addition, seven other Indian nationals were arrested in similar fashion while they slept Saturday night....

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Details on How a Sophisticated Web Attack Works
         IDG News Service by Grant Gross

  • WASHINGTON -- A sophisticated new attack that uses three pieces of malware to turn PCs into zombies that can be sold to criminal groups has appeared on the Internet this week, security vendor Computer Associates International (CA) said Thursday.

    A version of the Bagle worm downloader that CA has dubbed Glieder serves as a "beachhead" from which attackers can install more-serious malware on computers, CA said. Ultimately, through tactical coordination between Glieder and other invasive programs, infected computers can have their antivirus and firewall software disabled and can be turned into remotely controlled zombies that may then be used to mount large cyberattacks, CA said....

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Same-Sex Marriage Bill Falters in California
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Susan Jones

  • A homosexual "marriage" bill failed to pass the California Assembly on its first vote Wednesday evening, and it failed to pass on a second vote early Thursday morning.

    Conservative opponents of the bill called the development "very encouraging."

    AB 19 would delete "a man and a woman" from California marriage laws, defining marriage as the union of "two persons."...

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Gay bill fast-tracked: Same-sex nuptials law by summer, Liberals say
         CanWest News Service/National Post by Tim Naumetz and Scott Stinson

  • OTTAWA - The federal government told Liberal MPs yesterday it will push same-sex marriage legislation through Parliament before a summer recess, prompting critics to charge the Liberals are ignoring public complaints about the controversial bill....

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June 2, 2005

Thought for Today:

 The judgment and wrath He poured out on Sodom,
The mercy and grace He gave us at the cross,
I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten that our
God is an awesome God.

Our God is an awesome God,
He reigns from Heaven above,
With wisdom, pow'r and love,
Our God is an awesome God.

(from "Awesome God" by Ray Boltz)

Articles

Meet Jesus, My Friend
         Christianity.ca by Marg Buchanan

  • "It's not about going to church or being religious. It's about being part of God's story."

    Laura, 17, is talking to her friend Guillaume—a guy that goes to her house to hang. They play guitar and talk about music and mushrooms, politics and poverty, and God....

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After the McCain mutiny
         Creators Syndicate Inc. by Pat Buchanan

  • It is being called "the McCain Mutiny."

    On May 23, Senate Republicans were poised to disarm Harry Reid and Co. of the weapons they have used to kill the Bush judges. Every hostage still held by the Democratic minority was about to be freed....

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Recovered Homosexual Keynote Speaker at ECP Fundraiser for Chris Kempling
         LifeSiteNews by Staff

  • BURLINGTON, Ontario – A recovered homosexual is scheduled as the keynote speaker at a June 24 Equipping Christians for the Public Square (ECP) fundraising dinner aimed to help beleaguered BC teacher Chris Kempling....

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June 1, 2005

Thought for Today:

 Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide;
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light.

 (from "The Present Crisis" by James Russell Lowell)

Articles

FROM THE PUBLISHER>> Group to buy 200,000 acres to save woodpecker
         Arkansas Leader by Staff

  • There’s an abandoned railroad trestle bridge on a dirt road at the Dagmar Wildlife Management Area off Hwy. 70 just past Biscoe, where you can watch for birds before the weather gets hot and the mosquitoes want to eat you alive.

    The dirt road is on the right, and to the left, there’s a display about the recently discovered ivory-billed woodpecker....

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Same-sex marriage bill stalls in political wrangle
         Globe and Mail (Canada) by Gloria Galloway and Campbell Clark

  • Ottawa — The definition of marriage is unlikely to be changed to include same-sex couples until some time in the fall, after the Liberals backed down yesterday from an attempt to curtail committee hearings and push the controversial measure through the Commons....

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Conservatives keep winning battles in their war on same-sex marriage
         Globe and Mail (Canada) by John Ibbitson

  • Vic Toews was settling into the fifth hour of his filibuster yesterday when the Liberals conceded defeat. It was a very good day for social conservatives in Canada.

    Bill C-38, the legislation legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, has turned into a war of manoeuvres, with the Conservatives outmanoeuvring the Liberals at every turn....

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Washington Post Confirms Felt Was 'Deep Throat'
         The Washington Post by William Branigin and David Von Drehle

  • The Washington Post today confirmed that W. Mark Felt, a former number-two official at the FBI, was "Deep Throat," the secretive source who provided information that helped unravel the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s and contributed to the resignation of president Richard M. Nixon.

    The confirmation came from Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate story, and their former top editor, Benjamin C. Bradlee. The three spoke after Felt's family and Vanity Fair magazine identified the 91-year-old Felt, now a retiree in California, as the long-anonymous source who provided crucial guidance for some of the newspaper's groundbreaking Watergate stories....

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The last man on earth to speak Nuchatlaht
         Times Colonist (Canada) by Staff

  • Meet Alban Michael, the only person on Earth who still speaks Nuchatlaht.

    Michael, who lives near Zeballos on northern Vancouver Island, may be unique, but his story isn't. Aboriginal languages are vanishing as the few people who still speak them grow old....

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Group Targets Ford for Promoting Homosexual Agenda
         CNSNews (Cybercast News Service) by Susan Jones

  • The same conservative group that recently ended a nine-year boycott of the Walt Disney Company is now organizing a boycott of the Ford Motor Company -- because of Ford's support for the homosexual political agenda, it said....

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Archives:

        Statement of Fatos Nano--March 20, 2003 (July 4, 2006)
        Reflections on the Ten Commandments--Part One (June 28, 2005)
        Reflections on the Ten Commandments--Part Two (June 28, 2005)
        What Is Moral? Something to Ponder (June 20, 2005)
        Blue Dakota and Other Stories (May 30, 2005)
        From Dan's Desk (May 25, 2005)
        Remembering Ake Green (May 11, 2005)
        On the Death of the Pope John Paul II (April 3, 2005)
        Terri Schiavo: The Biggest Questions and the Ultimate Reality (March 22, 2005)
        Some Articles about Pat Summitt (March 22, 2005)
        Hinkumbooby (March 8, 2005)
        The Best Basketball Coach in America (March 7, 2005)
        Update on the Gay Agenda (March 6, 2005)
        Fred Smithwick (March 6, 2005)
        Religion and the Environment (March 5, 2005)
        Lebanon (March 1, 2005)
        Tasmanian Wolf Photograph? (February 28, 2005)
        Irony and the Alleged BTK Killer (February 26, 2005)
        Remember Ake Green (February 12, 2005)
        New Blog (February 12, 2005)
        Sadness and Joy (January 30, 2005)
        How Hillary Can Moderate Her Positions (January 26, 2005)
        Useful Freeware (December 26, 2004)
        A Glance at Some Articles of Note from 2004 (December 22, 2004)
        Stars and Mountains (November 10, 2004)
        Pollsters and the Final Results (November 4, 2004)
        Message for Religious Conservatives (October 29, 2004)
        John Kerry and the Coalition (October 9, 2004)

        Articles:

                May 2005
                April 2005
                March 2005
                February 2005


        Thought for Today:

                May 2005
                April 2005