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Kaine and his running mate are both old school Democrats who take advantage of perks and bend the law to their advantage Well, it was a rocky coronation for Hillary Clinton. Although she secured the controversial nomination, her acceptance speech was widely panned, even criticized by Democrat operative David Axelrod. In fact, it was so boring that her husband fell asleep during her 56 minute excursion into political fantasy land. It remains to be seen what kind of bounce she will receive in the polls. After the GOP finished their convention, Donald Trump secured the lead for the first time...

Sen. Tim Kaine legally accepted more than $162,000 in gifts when he served as lieutenant governor and governor of Virginia.. The disclosures have been publicly available for years, but they could be under some scrutiny now, since Kaine has been floated as a possible vice presidential pick for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Virginia Democrat disclosed the gifts from 2001 to 2009, according to reports filed by the Virginia Public Access Project, which Politico reported. Most of the gifts were for travel to and from political conferences and events. Accepting gifts is legal under Virginia's lax ethics rules, and...

Why is it that most people eventually abandon the idea of Santa Claus … and yet so many never abandon belief in an omnipotent government? Santa Claus is magic. His toy sack never empties, he traverses the globe faster than lightning, his reindeer never tire, his elves never strike, and he’s never too fat for the chimney. Awed by his powers, young kids approach the Jolly One clutching wish lists that itemize the objects of their “unbridled avarice,” as a popular Christmas movie put it. And why not? Santa’s little supplicants are prodded by plenty of parental encouragement. No toy...

The Gift of Sorrow for Sin – A Meditation on the “Mass for the Gift of Tears” in the Missal By: Msgr. Charles PopeMost pastors and confessors are aware that in any parish there are going to be a few who are scrupulous, even in times like these. Some have a kind of scrupulosity that is mild and almost admirable.  A sensitive conscience is a beautiful thing and bespeaks a kind of innocence that is rare today.Some others have a more unhealthy form of scrupulosity, rooted too much in cringing fear of a God who is seen more as a...

Hillary is not going to run for president. Oh, she may put her name up. But run, as in the sense of actually campaigning, that’s another story altogether. There’s a line from the first Godfather that’s always stuck in my mind. Sollozzo (Al Lettieri), the family’s deadly enemy who has just taken an almost fatal crack at Don Corleone, bends forward and near-whispers, “Could I have gotten to him ten years ago?” That line has been running through my mind the past several weeks as the e-mail saga has unfolded: Could anybody have gotten to Hillary ten years ago? The...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday brought home a 2,700-year-old Persian artifact the US administration gave him as "a special gift" to Iranians, media reports said. "The Americans contacted us on Thursday and said 'we have a gift for you'," Rouhani told reporters upon arrival at the airport in Tehran, the ILNA news agency reported. "They gave it back as a special gift to the Iranian nation." Rouhani was speaking of a 7th century BC silver Persian drinking cup in the shape of a winged Griffin, a legendary creature with the head of an eagle and body of a lion....

Tom Brady just deflated his tax bill, handing off the winning Super Bowl MVP truck worth $35,000 to Malcolm Butler who will pay taxes on the prize. Butler is the rookie cornerback who intercepted Russell Wilson‘s pass on the goal line to seal the Patriots’ Super Bowl win..... But aren’t gifts tax-free? Not always, and distinguishing between income and gifts can be tough. If gifts are made out of “detached and disinterested” generosity, they aren’t taxable. These gifts are more in the nature of marketing, made in a business context not a family one. Any individual can give gifts to...

The West Coast port slowdowns are hurting workers as well as retailers this holiday season.The NBC affiliate in Seattle reported that many of those who work for the ports can’t afford utilities or Christmas gifts for their families because the slowdowns have delayed their paychecks. The work slowdowns are the result of a seven-month labor dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Each side of the dispute blames the other.Vicki Raiter, the mother of one of the Port of Tacoma workers, told the local NBC affiliate, “If the shipments aren’t coming, then...

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It's the season for giving. That doesn't mean it's the season for government. Government creates loyalty in the minds of citizens by pretending to be Santa Claus, doling out gifts and favors. Politicians claim they help those unfortunates who aren't helped by coldhearted capitalism. The truth is, government gets in the way of charity, making it harder for people to help others and for the poor to help themselves. It also gets in the way of commerce, which is what really makes people better off. When I was in college, President Lyndon Johnson declared "an all-out war on human poverty....

Zelda Caldwell November 27, 2014 The Texas Nuns Does the thought of hitting the malls this Black Friday (and beyond) fill you with dread? Is a crowded parking lot an occasion of sin for you? Do gift cards leave you feeling like a failure? Why not skip all that stress and and give your loved ones thoughtful, unique, and delicious gifts made by monks and nuns from monasteries and religious communities around the country and available online?   These handcrafted and original gifts will thrill everyone on your list, from your most pious aunt to your hipster nephew searching...

What do you get a king in the making for his birthday? Thankfully the Obamas weren't short of a few good ideas. The President and his family sent the newborn Prince George a stunning hand-made rocking horse as well a blanket made from the finest alpaca wool to celebrate his birth last year. Sporting a saddle embossed with the presidential seal, the wooden rocking horse came with a polo mallet with a head made from the branch of an oak tree that once stood on the south lawn of the White House.

There are so many wonderful details in the Epiphany story: the call of the Gentiles, the nations, and their enthusiastic response, the significance of the star they see, and the gifts they bring, the dramatic interaction with Herod and their ultimate rejection of him in favor Christ.In this meditation I would like especially to follow these Magi, in their journey of faith to become wise men. As Magi, they followed the faint stars, distant points of light; as Wise Men they follow Jesus who is the ever Glorious Light from Light, true God from true God.We can observe how they...

Rodman Brings Bread and Circuses to Pyongyang 8:16 AM, Jan 7, 2014 • By DENNIS P. HALPIN .... The bread being brought by Rodman to accompany the circus is allegedly in the form of luxury birthday gifts for the North Korean dictator and his wife. Rodman seems oblivous to North Korea’s near starvation of its people, human rights atrocities, gulags, and nuclear and missile adventurism, and appears equally unconcerned that providing Pyongyang with any luxury goods is a violation of the sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2094, adopted on March 7, 2013, and previous resolutions .....

There are two things that never change on their own, and that is history and the human heart. It is due to the nature of the human heart that history is comprised of bad and destructive decisions. But Jesus Christ came to change all of this, and still does to this day, especially with those who are willing to seek him. Are you one of them?

One hundred years ago in America, Christmas was a mighty different situation. Based on newspaper reports, MyHeritage.com recently put together a list of the most-asked-for gifts by children who lived back then. Here are the top five requests: --Candy. --Nuts. --Rocking Horse. --Doll. --Mittens. It's a modest list, to say the least, but reflective of a time that was far less complicated than society is today. Now, kids rule in many homes. And Santa is under siege. This year, the top five kid-wants according to retailers are: --Furby Boom. --Teksta Robotic Puppy. --LeapPad Ultra. --Flutterbye Flying Fairy. --Big Hugs...

Chocolates, fruit, nuts, tiny toys: these are all your typical stocking stuffers but if you are looking to mix things up this year we have a couple suggestions. J&D's, the Seattle-based company that brought you Bacon Salt (which makes everything taste like bacon) and Baconnaise (bacon-flavored mayonnaise), has two new products just in time for the holidays. We became aware of these in a press release and when we saw the words "bacon deodorant" we knew we had to try it out. Here is our take on their new products: J&D’s Bacon Deodorant: Bacon used to be just a simple...

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In this post I am trying to continue our celebration of the lost “Octave” of Pentecost. Today I want to consider three gifts of the Holy Spirit.As you may recall, there are seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude and Fear of the Lord. Most Catholics cannot define them well in any sort of articulate way. This is due to poor catechesis but also to the fact that modern English has tended to use several of these terms interchangeably, almost as synonyms, though they are distinct theologically.There are also secular usages of these terms that...