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The "Go" of Preparation " If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift " —Matthew 5:23-24 It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in...

Live in the U.S. any length of time, and one thing you soon realize: The country, be that its media or its government, can only focus on one crisis at a time. Right now, that failing is eminently forgivable. Nothing is more pressing than a financial meltdown that unless it is tackled in days -- or a very few weeks at the most -- could lead to the Great Depression of the 21st century. But amid the turmoil, another crisis has been forgotten. Once it was measured in years, now the critical moment may arrive in months. Does anyone remember...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -- First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America Because John Mashek is apparently so utterly unfamiliar with it, I'm setting out the text of the First Amendment for his ease of reference. According to his column in U.S. News, the Roman Catholic bishop of Scranton, PA violates the First Amendment by...

It should be noted that "Republicans" do not include "McCain." Although McCain saw this crisis coming, and attempted to avert it, he is now foolishly engaging in demogogic populism, blaming Wall Street for "forcing" loans on poor people who coudn't afford them. He knows better. But he's too foolish to know the truth is actually on his side. He doesn't need to demogogue up Wall Street. This was a fifteen year campaign by the Democrats, ACORN, and Fannie and Freddie's executives to loosen up mortgage requirements to the point where there simply where no requirements at all. Net result? Trillions...

Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News national poll. Just 9 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as good or excellent, the first time that number has been in single digits since the days just before the 1992 election. Just 14 percent said the country is heading in the right direction, equaling the record low on that question in polls dating back to...

I received this email from COMCAST this morning: Dear Comcast Subscriber: ACTION REQUIRED: Comcast has determined that your computer(s) have been used to send unsolicited email ("spam"), which is generally an indicator of a virus. For your own protection and that of other Comcast customers, we have taken steps to prevent further transmission of spam from your computer(s). Comcast.Net WebMail Users If you use a web browser to access your email, this change will not affect your service. However, it is important that you take steps to remove the virus and secure your computer(s). This can be done by using...

OLYMPIA — The state Democratic Party filed suit Tuesday in an attempt to force Dino Rossi to list his party preference as "Republican" on the November ballot instead of "GOP Party." Democrats say the Iraq War and low approval ratings for President Bush have left the Republican Party a damaged brand and that Rossi is trying to distance himself by using GOP as his affiliation. Rossi is running against Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. He lost to Gregoire by 133 votes in the 2004 election, and polls show this race to be close as well. Polls by Stuart Elway have suggested...

What if we had a way of attainng part of the speed of light, and then partially attracted the light to us magnetically, or with gases, somehow, or a type of gravity. Doesn't gravity of a celestial body depend upon the chemical make-up of the celestial body, and how is that in congruence with mass, change gravity. Light cannot escape a black hole, but gases can. Maybe on the flip side of some of these black holes, the gases that escape it, converge, and start a new nebulae.

This is the state of our great republic: We've nationalized the financial system, taking control from Wall Street bankers we no longer trust. We're about to quasi-nationalize the Detroit auto companies via massive loans because they're a source of American pride, and too many jobs — and votes — are at stake. Our Social Security system is going broke as we head for a future in which too many retirees will be supported by too few workers. How long before we have national health care? Put it all together, and the America that emerges is a cartoonish version of the...

How exactly did Barack Obama pay for his Harvard Law School education? The way the Obama campaign has answered the question was simply hard work and student loans. But new questions have been raised about Obama’s student loans and Obama’s ties to a radical Muslim activist who reportedly was raising money for Obama’s Harvard studies during the years 1988 to 1991. The allegations first surfaced in late March, when former Manhattan Borough president Percy Sutton told a New York cable channel that a former business partner who was “raising money” for Obama had approached him in 1988 to help Obama...

Having devastated vast areas of its own lands in the Caucasus, such as Chechnya and Ingushetia, in order to "protect" them from instability, Moscow's obliterating shadow has settled deep over Georgia -- with the usual consequences. The full barbarism of Russian actions in Georgia may not emerge for years; much of the evidence lies behind the lines in terrain newly annexed by Russia. But some details are now beyond dispute. Alongside the various human atrocities, such as the bombing and purging of civilian areas, the invaders looted and destroyed numerous historical sites, some of which were profoundly revered by the...

As both doctrine and praxis, to borrow from the old vernacular, communism may have been the most vicious phenomenon of the twentieth century. Part of the viciousness was its canny competence in purporting to be the chalice of hope for mankind. Nazism was also cruel, very cruel and industrially proficient in the mechanics of mass death. But it had no pretensions to universal humanitarianism. It was a master race ideology. Given this undisguised basic principle, its enemies and victims were evident at the near-start and they were by definition counted in the multitudes. Perhaps that is one reason why Hitler's...

Democrat Barack Obama has an ever-so-slight lead over Republican John McCain in the latest Mason-Dixon Florida poll released Tuesday. Obama held a 47-45 percent lead over McCain in the Sept. 16-18 survey of 625 voters. The margin for error was 4 percent.

HILLSBORO -- An Oregon Court of Appeals panel wasted no time Tuesday exploring the legal questions surrounding Snowball, the now-famous deer that a Molalla couple discovered seven years ago and adopted as a pet. The judges rapidly fired questions at state attorney Cecil A. Reniche-Smith and Geordie Duckler, who represents the Molalla couple, James Filipetti and Francesca Mantei. And the justices had a lot of questions. Sometimes the lawyers were in midsentence when other questions came their way: If the couple did not have a permit for the deer, how can they legally possess it? Why should the state return...

We can fix our economy right now if we would just sharply increase taxes on employers, savers, investors, big business, small business, anyone who would start a business, and workers who make too much money. We need more power and authority for the wise, selfless, government bureaucrats in Washington who really understand our economy and how to fix it. Then, acting only in the public interest for the good of all peoples, without any influence from special interests or politics, they can impose new regulatory burdens on the stupid, greedy, corrupt businesses that actually hire the workers and pay them...

U.S. Intelligence: N.K. Leader`s Brother to Take Over SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 08:59 U.S. intelligence says Jang Song Taek, the brother-in-law of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, will take over if Kim falls seriously ill or dies, sources in Seoul and Washington said yesterday. U.S. intelligence analyzed who will replace Kim and if North Korea can maintain political stability under three scenarios: Kim has physical instead of mental problems; Kim cannot recover consciousness for a long time; and his death. A report on this was sent to the South Korean presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, National Intelligence Service and...

Marion County Public Library Previous EventMarion County (FL) FairTax Volunteers monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month from 6:30pm until 8:30pm at the Marion County Public Library, Meeting Room A. We have this room until December 3, 2008. Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Repeat on the first Wednesday of the month until 12/03/2008 This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

A civil war broke out on the Democratic ticket, as Obama slapped down a comment by Joe Biden just a day after Biden ripped a sarcastic Obama ad about John McCain. After slamming McCain for flip-flopping on bailing out AIG, Obama was asked by "Today" show Matt Lauer about Biden's view. "And I think that, in that situation - I think Joe should have waited, as well," Obama said. Biden Monday slammed his own campaign for running a commercial about McCain's inability to use a computer.

A 30-year-old Philadelphia policeman was shot and killed yesterday by a wanted felon who fired several times into the fallen officer as he lay wounded on a North Philadelphia street. "He stood over the top of him and killed him," said Homicide Capt. James Clark, who called the killing of Officer Patrick McDonald an "execution." --snip-- The gunman was identified as Daniel Giddings, 27, who was recently released from state prison after serving time for a 1998 robbery and aggravated assault

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - September 24 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him." - Ezra 8:22 A convoy on many accounts would have been desirable for the pilgrim band, but a holy shame-facedness would not allow Ezra to seek one. He feared lest the...