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Painting: Michaelangelo's Prophet Isaiah Dear friends, We are all familiar with Isaiah's well known prophecy of Christmas: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) However, Isaiah made another (lesser known) prophecy of Christmas: "Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a Manchild" (Isa 66:7) This verse is the basis for the Catholic teaching that Mary experienced no pain when she delivered Christ at Bethlehem. The Roman Catechism teaches that Christ passed through her...

Enlarge Image Risk factor. Smoking may cause chemical modifications of DNA. Credit: Hemera/Thinkstock Cigarettes leave you with more than a smoky scent on your clothes and fingernails. A new study has found strong evidence that tobacco use can chemically modify and affect the activity of genes known to increase the risk of developing cancer. The finding may give researchers a new tool to assess cancer risk among people who smoke. DNA isn't destiny. Chemical compounds that affect the functioning of genes can bind to our genetic material, turning certain genes on or off. These so-called epigenetic modifications can influence...

Tory MP David Davies recently caused outrage when he suggested that parents wanted their children to be heterosexual and that plans to legalize gay marriage were “barking mad”. Now the politician has attempted to defend his comments by saying that he has not “done years of diversity training”. Mr. Davies’ continued opposition to gay marriage and outspoken comments have angered equal rights campaigners and the MP admitted that he has been “tactless”. … In an interview with the Guardian, the 48-year-old said: “I haven’t done years of diversity training, so sometimes I say things which are probably tactless, and I...

Someone needs to tell Barack Obama—it must get particularly confusing this time of year—that his own birth is not Year One, the date around which all other events are understood. His much-noted, self-referential tic was on cringe-worthy display Friday when the president gave his eulogy for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye, who served in Congress for half a century representing Obama’s birth state of Hawaii. Inouye was a Japanese-American war hero (he lost an arm in World War II, destroying his dream of becoming a surgeon), and as a senator he served on the Watergate committee, helped rewrite our intelligence...

Sen. Barrasso: Obama sees a ‘political victory’ in going over the cliffBy Alicia M. Cohn - 12/23/12 09:32 AM ET Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Sunday he thinks President Obama wants to dive over the so-called "fiscal cliff." "I believe the president is eager to go over the cliff for political purposes," Barrasso told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." "He senses a political victory at the bottom of the cliff." The senator also said he believes the nation will go over the cliff, with the deadline just nine days away. Barrasso said he thinks Obama is eager to blame...

Let's get an arrest warrant out for David Gregory.

Legal Insurrection@LegInsurrection @davidgregory Was that a high capacity ammunition clip you were holding? Did you check D.C. law? Update 5:15 p.m. — It has been 4 hours since I emailed the two communications people at NBC News with responsibility for Meet the Press, and almost two hours since I emailed the S.V.P. of Communications and left a voice mail on her cell phone, but no response yet from NBC News. -snip- It sure looks that way, unless the gun clip Gregory held up today was just a dummy prop. I saw a number of tweets linking to this post David...

The economic crisis and its social impact is a major concern for most EU citizens, according to a survey published Thursday (20 December) by survey group Eurobarometer. “The proportion of Europeans who say that the situation of their national economy is rather bad or very bad exceeds two-thirds for the ninth consecutive time,” notes the survey. Unemployment, the general unchanged nature of the economic crisis, and rising prices are among the greatest concerns. … The fear of losing a job or not finding one is pervasive throughout the EU. More than six Europeans out of 10 believe that “the worst...

Golden State legislators join the gun control chorus in the wake of Sandy Hook. It took only days before California’s lefty legislators reacted to the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy with a fusillade of bills designed to take California closer to Democratic leaders’ unstated but obvious goal: making it essentially illegal for citizens to own firearms in California.I write “essentially” because the strategy isn’t to ban guns outright, but to mire ownership in so many layers of regulation that owning a gun becomes even more frustrating and costly than operating a business in this state. Legislators aren’t stupid. Direct...

US Navy SEAL commander dies in Afghanistan AAP December 24, 2012 8:51AM A SAILOR identified by US media as the commanding officer of US Navy SEAL Team 4 has died in Afghanistan, military officials say. The Pentagon said Commander Job Price, 42, did not die in combat, and that his death was under investigation. Price, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday of a "non-combat related injury while supporting stability operations in (central) Uruzgan province, Afghanistan," a Defence Department statement said. It said Price was assigned to a Naval Special Warfare unit in Virginia Beach, Virginia. NBC News reported that Price...

Apache co-pilot Prince Harry launched a missile attack on the Taliban in a devastating airstrike in Afghanistan. The 27-year-old was called in to provide air support to troops and discharged a 100lb Hellfire missile. The attack happened in late October, shortly after the prince returned to Afghanistan for his second tour of duty as gunship co-pilot. Captain Harry Wales – as he is known in the Army – is a co-pilot gunner in the Apache unit which has the highest ‘kill rate’ in the war. As the co-pilot gunner, Harry commands missions, fire the weapons, navigates and sometimes take over...

Mitt Romney didn't want to be president, anyway. That's what Tagg Romney, Mitt's oldest son, told the Boston Globe for its big post-mortem on his father's failed presidential bid published on Sunday. “He wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life," Tagg Romney told the paper. "He had no desire to ... run. If he could have found someone else to take his place ... he would have been ecstatic to step aside.

Here on the 4th Sunday of Advent, we are but a day away, practically speaking, from the unfolding of the great mystery of the Word made flesh. It is possible for us to look right past this 4th Sunday of Advent, but we do well to pause and ponder what is taught to us today about the salvation that is to unfold. One significant way we can do this is by pondering the first reading today from the prophet Micah. In four short verses we behold a kind of summary of our salvation, a snapshot of what ails us and...

Don’t mess with Marlboro Township. The leafy, well-heeled New Jersey suburb will station a permanent armed cop in each of its nine schools starting Jan. 2. It’s apparently the first district nationwide bent on packing heat in every schoolhouse since madman Adam Lanza gunned down 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. “We’ve made a collective decision as a town that we need armed security in each of our schools,” Mayor Jonathan Hornik told The Post. “With this new evil, you can’t just sit there and hope that it doesn’t happen in...

FIREARMS "A" Accuracy International AE Accuracy International AW-50 Accuracy International AW Sniper 7.62x51 Accu-Tek AT25, AT32, AT380 Accu-Tek AT380 II AK-47 AKDAL M-1919 American 180 Rifle American Arms Escort American Arms P98 American Tactical AK47 American Tactical AT15 American Tactical AT94 American Tactical Double Action Pistols American Tactical FX45 American Tactical JR Carbine American Western Arms 1873 AMT 45 DAO AMT Automag II AMT Backup .22-.380 AMT Backup DAO AMT Hardballer AMT Lightning AMT On Duty Amtec 2000 Anschutz 54 Anschutz 64R Anschutz 64P Anschutz 275 Anschutz 380 Anschutz 525 Anschutz 1388 Anschutz 1400-1500 Anschutz 1403 Anschutz 1408 Anschutz 1411-1413...

After tragedies there is often a call for action – any action- regardless of how ineffective it might be. This week Wayne LaPierre of the NRA made a speech in which he called for armed cops in schools and it was ridiculed by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen-elect Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Blumenthal called it “sadly and shamefully inadequate.” Murphy called it “revolting and tone-deaf.” The New York Daily News called LaPierre the “craziest man on Earth.” Let’s examine those accusations. Among LaPierre's remarks: - We care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. American airports,...

Nowadays, however, there are four states that require no permit at all to carry a gun, and 35 states have permissive “shall issue” or “right-to-carry” laws that effectively take the decision of who should carry a weapon out of law enforcement’s hands. These laws say that if an applicant meets minimal criteria — one is not having been convicted of a felony, and another is not having a severe mental illness — officials have no choice about whether to issue a permit. Some states go even further by expressly allowing guns where they should not be. Nine states now have...

full title...CIA chief sends out extraordinary email to entire staff complaining about agency's portrayal in Zero Dark Thirty'I would not normally comment on a Hollywood film, but I think it's important to put Zero Dark Thirty which deals with one of the most significant achievements in our history, into some context,' Mike Morell began in his note to his staff on Friday.

Catholic Traditions for Advent and ChristmasMICHAELANN MARTINIssue: How can families better live the spirit of Advent and Christmas in their homes? ResponseThe Catholic Church has designated the four weeks preceding Christmas as Advent, a time to “prepare the way of the Lord” for His coming as our King and Savior. In addition, the Church teaches that: [w]hen the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating [John...

I’m happy to pay my fair share — which is whatever the tax is right now. The thing about capital gains is, I made the investment. I put in the original money. The house cost $3 million and then I put in an additional $6 million because the house was in terrible shape. We added rooms, sections, areas, and basically it was my investment. When I bought that house I think Obama was in high school, and I certainly have paid taxes ever since. -snip Now I’m being told the right thing is to do more. And because I can...