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Of all the reactions to Sarah Palin's Friday morning press conference, the most common by far is bafflement followed by gentle and not-so-gentle mockery. Those who've long since deemed Palin a criminally incompetent Lady Macbeth were delighted to see her crash and burn. Sensing some kind of ulterior motive, one emerging narrative is that she is abandoning ship before some messy ethics violation is revealed in an effort to preserve her 2012 presidential viability. One outlandish theory I've toyed with is that she intends to build a new life as an evangelical super-celebrity, the tough-but-loving mother of a large Christian...

The first Independence Day rolled unevenly across the country, prompting spontaneous celebrations and demonstrations. Today, of course, legislation is available for viewing throughout the process. But these days, one can hardly imagine a public declaration of the massive bills that govern our lives. Even Congress and the president can't be bothered to read them.

John Adans: Yesterday, the greatest question was decided which ever was debated in America; and a greater perhaps never was, nor will be, decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." ...

Dear Sarah, Please forgive my presumption in writing you, but since no one else seems willing or capable of saying these things, which I think sorely need saying, and since they concern you, and what this country is all about, namely: freedom, individuality, and character, I've taken this liberty and beg your indulgence. I'm somewhat appalled by all those who publicly and privately have presumed to know what prompted your decision to step down as Governor of the State of Alaska, and even more appalled by those who presume to tell you what you now ought, or even must do....

Next time someone tells you intelligent design is “based on religion,” you might point him to American Founder Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence. As I explain in a special July 4th edition of ID the Future, Jefferson not only believed in intelligent design, he insisted it was based on the plain evidence of nature, not religion. Ironically, the critics of intelligent design often think they are defending the principles of Jefferson. The National Council for the Social Studies, for example, claims that intelligent design is religion and then cites Jefferson’s famous Letter to the Danbury Baptists calling...

9 women, 4 children injured by rampage Muslims apparently angered because a Christian man driving a tractor reportedly tried to pass a Muslim on a motorcycle have rampaged in one village in Pakistan, destroying Christians' homes and throwing acid on women and children as they fled, according to a new report from Barnabas Aid. The ministry reported that the violence this week happened in the village of Bahmani Walla in Punjab state in Pakistan, which is dominated by Islamic influences.

Hi, A MUST SEE And Listen To VIDEO For This 4th of July 2009: GREAT VIDEO TO WATCH FOR THIS 4th OF July 2009 Peace! Dan Iraqs Inconvenient Truth :: Iraq War News Updates9

My childhood friend of 31 years visited my home on base, in Quantico, a few months after I gave birth to my first baby. As we took a leisurely stroll one evening through the lingering humidity of early September, I explained to her how different military life is from the world in which we grew up in San Francisco. We passed rows of colorful houses on the tree-lined, manicured blocks and gazed at the playgrounds around the neighborhood, ready to welcome the children of the officers who live there. American flags hung from virtually every front door. The occasional "My...

Part III: A is AChapter V: Their Brothers’ Keepers SynopsisIn California a copper wire breaks on a Taggart phone line. The last replacement wire has been sold to black marketeers with government connections, and no one will report anything because of possible repercussions from those with pull. An employee calls Dagny in New York to report the break, and Dagny asks Eddie to have their Montana people ship copper wire to California. Jim says cryptically that there soon won’t be any problems with copper. Jim complains about an uncoordinated transportation policy. Dagny judges that the Rail Unification Plan has failed,...

Photo courtesy of Oleg Volk) Two recent stories serve as reminders that while it’s great when the “good guys” win, there still can be a personal price to pay. Sugar Land, Texas – Working the night-shift as a computer technician paid off when James Arther awoke to his dog barking around noon. Alarmed by the barking, he retrieved his 9mm handgun just in case: "I opened my bedroom door and saw the guy," said James. "It looked like he was running towards me with a weapon like a screwdriver and I was scared." Arther shot the intruder once in the...

ROME (AFP) — US President Barack Obama said in an interview published Friday he thought Pope Benedict XVI would "share my approach" on policy in the Middle East.Obama, who is due to meet the pope on July 10, told Catholic Italian newspaper Avvenire he was keen to discuss the situation in the Middle East with the head of the Roman Catholic Church."It is a subject I am keen to discuss with the pope, I think he will share my approach," said Obama, who will meet the pope after the G8 summit in the central Italian town of L'Aquila.Obama has made...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0wr8egTnYw

My father, Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr., delivered this oft-requested address locally a number of times, but it had never before appeared in print until it appeared in The Limbaugh Letter. My dad was renowned for his oratory skills and for his original mind; this speech is, I think, a superb demonstration of both. I will always be grateful to him for instilling in me a passion for the ideas and lives of America's Founders, as well as a deep appreciation for the inspirational power of words which you will see evidenced here: "Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor"...

What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists? Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers. The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists. ...secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality...

With 82% of Morocco's Imams lacking formal training, a new qualification programme aims to provide better religious guidance to the Moroccan people and to counter extremism. Nearly 45,000 imams will undergo training under a new programme launched by the government on June 26th, part of a larger plan to reform religious affairs in the kingdom. In 2004, the first religious affairs reform plan led to an overhaul of the Islamic affairs ministry, revision of the legislation on places of worship, and the modernisation of religious instruction in Morocco. Ahmed Toufik, Minister for Islamic Affairs and Habous, explained that the 200...

“Last week, four Southern Baptists were arrested for plotting to blow up St Patrick’s Cathedral. The men, who became born-again Christians in prison, wanted to kill and terrorize Catholics.” If that was the opening paragraph in a newspaper story you were reading, your gut reaction would be – huh? Baptists don’t do things like that in the name of their faith. Neither do Catholics, Presbyterians, Seventh Day Adventists or Mormons. But when we read the headline in a May 21st New York Times’ story -- “4 Accused of Bombing Plot at Bronx Synagogues” -- it was ho-hum stuff. It wasn’t...

Despite this fact, PETA members go straight to the gutter to attempt to save potential chickens in distress. Like a deranged cult group, the young and impressionable (almost exclusively female) are recruited, stripped, and sent all but naked into the streets to decry the fate of a chicken, bird, rabbit, you name it. In what should enrage the feminist groups around the globe, PETA objectifies partially nude women in bondage-like 'cage' depictions that reduce women to nothing more than cheap sex objects. In other words, PETA attempts to swap one form of 'meat' with another form of the same. This...

I was asked to write a brief history of the Church of the Incarnation, in Highlands. North Carolina, for a local magazine. The piece was intended to be about the building itself, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and was built in 1896. But you cannot research the history of a church without also researching the history of the people who brought that church into being. Of the dozen people who formed the congregation for this church, one was Sarah Whiteside Norton. She was the first non-native American child born in the Highlands area, the daughter of...

Cardinal Justin Rigali Washington D.C., Jul 2, 2009 / 08:17 pm (CNA).- Pro-lifers and defenders of marriage reacted critically on Tuesday to an Obama administration proposal to use taxpayer funds for abortions in the District of Columbia and to a federal court's denial of a referendum involving same-sex “marriage.”Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia and chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a Tuesday letter that no one can support funding abortions in the nation’s capital and still claim to support reducing abortions.“The evidence is overwhelming, and universally recognized by...

A new Zogby poll shows that a majority of Americans support intelligent design. According to the poll, only 33 percent stated that they believe in Darwinian evolution, while 52 percent stated they believe life was guided by intelligent design. Steve Meyer is the director for science and culture at the Discovery Institute. In his new book Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, Meyers suggests that the digital revolution is fueling the popularity of intelligent design. "In the book I've written, I discuss the evidence of the digital code that's inside life -- the four-character digital...

The restoration of frescoes by Michelangelo in the Vatican has revealed what is believed to be a self-portrait of the artist. The face is in a wall mural in the Vatican’s Pauline Chapel or Cappella Paolina, according to Maurizio De Luca, the Vatican’s chief restorer. The chapel, which is used by the Pope and not open to the public, was unveiled this week after a restoration costing €3.2 million (£2.7 million). Professor De Luca said that a figure on horseback in a blue turban in Michelangelo’s The Crucifixion of St Peter was clearly the artist. “This is an extraordinary and...

David Frum has done conservatives a great favor, and we should be thankful. The favor is not that he has written another negative piece about Gov. Palin. No, that's nothing new for Frum, who has been bashing the governor since she stepped up onto the national stage. Frum's gift to conservatives is that in the article, he clearly demonstrates why Vichy Republicans cannot be trusted to act in the GOP's best interests. Referencing Todd Purdum's VF hit piece which has caused such a stir, Frum itemizes Purdum's anti-Palin talking points from the VF smear job, and then he makes this...

More bad news for Barack Obama. The first major book to be published on his presidency has shot up to the No. 1 spot on The New York Times' bestseller list the very first week of its release. Unlike the fawning media coverage the Obama White House has come to expect, this new best-seller "Catastrophe" paints a deeply negative picture of Obama and his policies. "Catastrophe: How Obama, Congress, and the Special Interests Are Transforming a Slump Into a Crash, Freedom Into Socialism, and a Disaster Into a Catastrophe . . . and How to Fight Back" is authored by...

First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia, along with her mother, Marian Robinson, will join President Obama when he travels to Russia, Italy and Ghana next week. The First Couple will meet with Pope Benedict XVI on July 10 at the Vatican.The White House announced in May that Mrs. Obama would visit Ghana -- and only recently confirmed that she will be with the president for the entire swing. The president will deliver two major speeches during the trip -- in Moscow, on U.S.-Russia relations, and in Accra, before the Ghanaian parliament. Not all details about Mrs. Obama's...

  MSNBC.com On marriage: Let’s call the whole thing off Author Sandra Tsing Loh is ending her marriage. Is it time you did, too? By Sandra Tsing Loh The Atlantic updated 6:27 a.m. PT, Mon., June 22, 2009 Sadly, and to my horror, I am divorcing. This was a 20-year partnership. My husband is a good man, though he did travel 20 weeks a year for work. I am a 47-year-old woman whose commitment to monogamy, at the very end, came unglued. This turn of events was a surprise. I don’t generally even enjoy men; I had an entirely manageable...

The Washington Post is marketing to institutional executives and lobbyists dinners with congressmen, Obama officials and its own reporters, according to Politico.com. The "salons" will be held at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. Price for access ranges from $25,000 to $250,000, according to the flier. So much for the role of watchdog. At least now, there is no excuse for doubting everything you read. The new service was made known to the general public by a health-care lobbyist offended by the policy. The flier baldly said the dinners would provide access to the paper's “health care reporting...

While I realize my efforts to decode Barack Obama may turn into a never-ending task, I want to focus on another of his rhetorical habit: his ceaseless attempts to portray himself as America's philosopher-king, the person standing not only above country but above politics itself. Obama is, he would have us believe, uniquely able to transcend old, tired, and rutted debates, to think anew, and to bring a fresh, creative approach to the problems of our time. He alone inhabits the upper world. On the stimulus package, Obama accused the bill's critics of employing "phony arguments and petty politics." Speaking...

Ancient Find Proves Christ's Words?Archaeologists have unearthed in Jordan what they believe to be the first Christian church in the world. Dating back almost 2,000 years to sometime between 33 AD to 70 AD, the church, which is actually a cave, was found underneath Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to 230 AD, in Rihab in northern Jordan near the Syrian border. Agence France Presse and The Jordan Times report that the church is thought to have sheltered the world's earliest Christians from persecution and certain death. "We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians--the 70...

An organization called the Freedom Federation has been formed in the fight for pro-family values. The announcement was made Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. One of the Federation's spokesmen is Mat Staver, head of Liberty Counsel and dean of the law school at Liberty University. "It is a federation of organizations that are united around core values, which we have elucidated in what we call the 'Declaration of American Values' -- ten core values that reflect our Judeo-Christian traditions," he explains. He says forming the group was urgent because, in his opinion, family values are under...

Free speech got a loud boost from Hollywood on Wednesday. Jon Voight has responded to accusations from a critic sympathetic to the American Communist Party, who said the actor had used hate speech and threatened the well-being of President Obama during a recent appearance before Republicans in Washington. Mr. Voight denied both charges, saying that those who speak out against the Obama administration are "demonized" and "attacked," often with hate speech.

People like John McCain and others who have been part of the self-absorbed, navel-gazing and corrupt Washington environment for a quarter century no doubt resent someone not "of them." But it is indeed odd when Sarah Palin, a bright, shining light for conservatives remains the prime target of the existing machine, while Mark Sanford and other hypocritical liars are serenaded as getting a raw deal by the very public daughter of a defacto leader of the party. For some reason, Meghan McCain, writing in The Daily Beast, seems to think adulterous politicians, like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, should be...

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So reads the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, which the original 13 states of America passed unanimously on July 4, 1776. It is worth noting that the independence that Congress had in mind when it passed its declaration was not from religion, reason or rectitude, but from Great Britain. More specifically, it was from an “absolute despotism.” Life, liberty and the pursuit of...

A new Vanity Fair article on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has re-ignited animosities among feuding high-profile Republican advisers who worked on Arizona Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. The in-depth profile, which describes Palin as the "sexiest and the riskiest brand in the Republican Party," raises questions about McCain's decision to pick the Alaska governor as his running mate and her "disastrous" performance in the 2008 campaign -- sparking a vicious back-and-forth between former advisers to the GOP ticket. "Perhaps most painful, how could John McCain, one of the cagiest survivors in contemporary politics...ever have picked a person whose utter...

Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion, has helped launch an atheist summer camp for children. Alongside the more traditional activities of tug-of-war, swimming and canoeing, children at the five-day camp in Somerset will learn about rational scepticism, moral philosophy, ethics and evolution. Camp-goers aged eight to 17 will also be taught how to disprove phenomena such as crop circles and telepathy. In the Invisible Unicorn Challenge, any child who can prove that unicorns do not exist will win a £10 note - which features an image of Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory -...

An early victim of these marauding conquerors was Persia—Iran—arguably one of the greatest civilizations known to humanity. It was the ancient Iranians who gave humanity its first charter of human rights, championed the ideals of tolerance, justice and autonomy of the diverse peoples in their vast empire. Islam systematically destroyed that civilization and, over time, tried its utmost to replace it with a barbaric way of thinking and behaving. Millions of Iranians resisted the savagery and paid with their lives. Some were forced to live under jazyyeh—pole tax levied on non-Muslims. Others lost their identity and heritage and embraced the...

As the source of media spectacle and late-night jokes, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has provided considerable distraction for the nation as his marital infidelity was made public. Despite the intrigue, character still counts among Americans. The majority of Americans say he should resign, and they also disapprove of his adulterous behavior, according to new opinion polls.

Tamaki Sato was confused by the dinosaur exhibit. The placards described the various dinosaurs as originating from different geological periods -- the stegosaurus from the Upper Jurassic, the heterodontosaurus from the Lower Jurassic, the velociraptor from the Upper Cretaceous -- yet in each case, the date of demise was the same: around 2348 B.C... [H]ere in the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky, Earth and the universe are just over 6,000 years old, created in six days by God. The museum preaches, "Same facts, different conclusions" and is unequivocal in viewing paleontological and geological data in light of a literal reading...

Gospel superstar Andrae Crouch and his twin sister, Sandra, confirm meeting with Michael Jackson and praying and singing with him weeks before his death. Jackson, raised as a member of the Jehovah's Witness sect and reportedly a convert to Islam last year, sought out the Crouches for inspiration for his upcoming tour, for which he was unprepared, according to a report in Assist News Service. But while some blogs have reported that meeting led to a spiritual conversion by Jackson, the Crouches say they are not certain. "Not sure where that came from," said Sandra Crouch on her Facebook page....

One picture says it all: http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=623861 "Video Game Idea of the Century!" http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3143589&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366448 "This is the greatest videogame patent I've ever read #1 " http://www.google.com/patents?id=aAuzAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=exalted&as_psra=1&as_psra=1

‘Meet John Doe’ and the Old Fakearoo Posted By Michael McGruther On June 30, 2009 @ 11:10 am In Classic Hollywood | No Comments Dear Reader, Do you have a little time to sit back and examine a classic movie that will absolutely shock you when seen through the prism of now? This is not my typical short article or essay. This is my own argument that what occurs in the 1941 picture “Meet John Doe” is exactly what has come to pass in America today with the Democratic Congress and their Presidential puppet. All the players and plays...

At the Canadian Science Writers’ Association convention in Sudbury, Ontario, our Sunday dinner speaker was American theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University, who presented sample clips from famous sci-fi films. And a whole lot more. Would you be astonished to learn that the films portray implausible or impossible physics? No? Filmmakers value audience numbers more than atomic numbers. His clips entertained, but did not surprise:. However, his talk frequently targeted religion and politics: although he professed to respect theists, he offered snarky asides suggesting that fear of science is growing in Canada (because it might damage religion), adding,...

SNIPPET: "Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel disagrees with the ACLU'S stance. "The lawsuit, however, in this particular case says that they are allowed to pray as a group only just one hour a week. The fact is that there is no constitutional right to assembly as a group five times a day, whether it's in the workplace or in the prison," he notes. Staver points out that Liberty Counsel completely supports religious liberty, regardless of a person's faith group. "But I think in the situation with regards to the Muslims, there is clearly a security issue at risk here when...

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, June 24, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Researchers at the University of Michigan have concluded that the love stories told in classic Disney and other G-rated children's films - such as the Little Mermaid - are partially to blame for the pervasiveness of what they label "heteronormativity." "Despite the assumption that children's media are free of sexual content, our analyses suggest that these media depict a rich and pervasive heterosexual landscape," wrote researchers Emily Kazyak and Karin Martin, in a report published in the latest issue of the Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) publication Gender & Society. Kazyak...

The Bible calls the Church "the Body of Christ." Today, that body is bleeding profusely, says a Christian author and sought-out speaker. "The next generation of believers is draining from the churches, and it causes me great personal and professional concern," said Ken Ham, founder and president of Answers in Genesis and a Young Earth creationist. Hoping to shed light on what he believes is a monumental problem, Ham enlisted the services of America's Research Group to study why young people were leaving. The results, published in Already Gone, will shake many churches to their very core, Ham states in...

I oppose affirmative action in all its forms but why is it given to non-african american minority groups? I understand the general idea for why the Left supports it is allegedly diversity (although they hate ideological diversity) but how can they claim that, for instance, with hispanic groups who comprise such a large population in the US now? Arguably you could support it (although I disagree with this) for African Americans as a form of reparations of sorts but how does that apply to any other group? I don't remember Hispanics being enslaved and it was the Irish, not Hispanics...

WASHINGTON, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from American Life League president Judie Brown regarding Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley's announcement that archdiocese-affiliated Caritas Christi Healthcare has withdrawn ownership of CeltiCare Health Plan. The announcement comes only two days after A.L.L. announced it would launch an investigation into the scandal.(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081105/DC44231LOGO ) "Praise God! After months of tireless effort from American Life League and pro-life heroes in Boston and around the country to expose a potential scandal only days away from becoming a tragic betrayal of Catholicism's unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person, Cardinal Sean...

Sunday morning + political talk shows + coffee. The equation has been a vital ritual in Washington for six decades now, manned by a rarified fraternal order of newsmen who practice some very basic journalism. It's the David Gregory, Chris Wallace, George Stephanopoulos, Bob Schieffer hour of charm.

Contrary to what we hear incessantly, marriage is not a right; it is an estate, a condition. There are conditions of life that have nothing to do with rights. One doesn’t have a right to go through puberty. One either does or doesn’t. What is the condition of being married, and what makes it possible to attain it? Franz Rosenzweig’s anthropology—in which religion is a response to man’s sentience of death, and the sentience of death is not only an individual but also an communal characteristic—may help answer that question. Humankind fights mortality in two ways. The first is to...

The “Silent Treatment”, you know, the treatment you get from your spouse when you have really, really, screwed up and you know your in really, really deep? The calm before the storm so to speak. Let them begin to wonder what we’re thinking, because it’s apparent that they don’t give a damn when we do tell them. `We The People’ stopped the Immigration bill a while back, but that isn’t working anymore. We melted down their phone lines yesterday with our objections to this latest, UNREAD, travesty of a bill, and they ignored us. Maybe it’s time to ignore them...

Part III: A is AChapter IV: Anti-Life SynopsisJim Taggart hands a hundred dollar bill to a bum on the street, and the bum contemptuously takes no notice of the denomination. Under the Railroad Unification Plan, the machine has run down further. There are ripples. In North Dakota, a short line has gone bankrupt, relegating the state to a “blighted area”. The local banker has killed his family and then himself. A single freight train has been taken off the roster in Tennessee, shutting down a factory that had been dependent upon it. The owner’s son quit college and is now...